53.3 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

030201^875 



peanulifS* 

pHSJ 




Veterans 

oj the 

Seventh Regiment, 

NA TIONAL GUARD, S. N. Y. 



'05 



J 



INTRODUCTION. 



In consequence of an extra official statement of several offi- 
cers of the 1st and 2d Divisions, N. G. S. N. Y., which ap- 
peared in the Press of the City of New York, and in printed 
circulars, on February 19, 1884, and which was calculated to 
very much misrepresent the character .objects, and statutory 
rights and privileges of the Veterans of the*Seventh Regiment, 
N. G. S. N. Y., as a chartered independent military or- 
ganization in the reserve militia of the State; the facts con- 
tained in the following pages are. by direction of the 

VETERANS OF THE SEVENTH REGIMENT 
NATIONAL GUARD S. N. Y.. 
published for the information of all concerned. 

L. W. WINCHESTER, Colonel and Chairman, 

CHAS. ROOME, 

WILLIAM A. DARLING, 

JACKSON S. SCHULTZ, 

WILLIAM A. POND, 

WILLIAM H. MONTANYE, 

HENRY H. HOLLY, 

Committee. 

New Yokk, April 2, 1S84. 



OFFICERS 

OF THE VETERANS OF THE SEVENTH REGIMENT, 

NATIONAL GUARD S. N. Y. 

April i860 to April 1861. 

Colonel John M. Catlin * 
Lieutenant-Colonel Morgan L. Smith. 
Major James B. Wilson. 
Adjutant Asher Taylor. 
Quartermaster E. T. Backhouse. 
Paymaster Thomas M. Adriance. 
Commissary Aaron Kemp. 
Chaplain, Rev. Samuel D. Denison. 
Captain Wright F. Conger. 
Captain Joseph M. Cooper. 
Captain J. L. Everitt. 
Captain Wm. H. Curtis. 
Captain Edward A. Lambert. 
Captain Cyrus H. Loutrel. 
Captain Henry Meigs, Jr. 
Captain David T. Valentine. 
Lieutenant Jackson S. Schultz. 
Lieutenant Washington Durbrow. 
Lieutenant John Armstrong. 
Lieutenant John M. Davis. 
Lieutenant Lewis H. Watts. 
Lieutenant Linus W. Stevens. 
Lieutenant Theodore W. Todd. 
Lieutenant George G. Waters. 



Linus W. Stevens succeeded Col. John M. Catlin as Colonel of the Veterans, April, 1861. 



OFFICERS 

OF THE VETERANS OF THE SEVENTH REGIMENT, 
NATIONAL GUARD S. N. Y. 

April 1883 to April 1884. 

Colonel LOCKE W. WINCHESTER. 
Lieut.-Colonel CHARLES B. BOSTWICK. 
Major JOHN H. KEMP. 
Adjutant HENRY L. FREELAND. 
Surgeon T. M. CHEESMAN, M.D. 
Asst. Surgeon J. C. BARRON, M.D. 
Oiarterhaster HENRY H. HOLLY. 
Paymaster EDWARD A. KINGSLAND. 
Commissary EDWARD KEMP. 
Chaplain Rev. J. TUTTLE SMITH, D.D. 

Captains. Lieutenants. 

HENRY I. H AYDEN JOHN T. BAKER . 

JOHN C. GIFFING RICHARD L. SALISBURY. 

JOHN W. MURRAY HENRY W. T. MALI. 

WILLIAM H. RIBLET LORENZO G. WOODHOUSE. 

WILLIAM A. SPEAIGHT CHARLES L. FLEMING. 

EDWARD O. BIRD FREDERICK A. GOODWIN. 

LYMAN TIFFANY WILLIAM MO ORES. 

HENRY C. SHUMWAY JOHN W. SPICER 

EDWARD G. ARTHUR W. GAYER DOMINICK. 

JAMES RAY DAVID CROCKER. 



EXTRACTS FROM CHARTER AND AMENDMENTS. 

AN ACT to Incorporate the Veterans of the National Guard, 
Seventh Regiment, First Division, New York State Militia. 

Passed March 11, 1861. 



The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and 
Assembly, do enact as follows : 

Section 1. — Linus AY. Stevens, Morgan L. Smith, John M. Catlin, 
Washington R. Yermilye, Andrew A. Bremner, Abrani Duryee, 
Marshall Lefferts, Philetus H. Holt, Charles Roome, Henry Meigs, 
Jr.. Cyrus H. Loutrel, John H. Brower, Asher Taylor, Thomas M. 
Adriance, David T. Valentine, Edward A. Lambert, James B. Wil- 
son, Samuel D. Denison, Theodore W. Todd, William Everdell, and 
such other persons as now are associated as the Veterans of the 
National Guard, or may hereafter become associated with them, are 
hereby constituted a body corporate by the name of "The Veterans 
of the National Guard." 

Sec. 2. — The objects of said corporation are to afford pecuniary rebel" 
to indigent or reduced members, and their widows and children ; to 
promote social union and fellowship, and preserve and continue the 
recollections of service in the National Guard. 

Sec. 3. — The said corporation shall have power to make and adopt 
a Constitution and By-Laws, Rules and Regulations, Tor the admis- 
sion of members, and their government, the election of officers and 
their duties, the suspending or expelling of members, and for the 
safe-keeping of its property and funds, and from time to time to alter 
or repeal Buch Constitution, By-Laws, Rules, and Regulations. The 

present officers shall hold their respective ollices until others are 
chosen in their places. 

"• # # # 

Sec. <>. — This acl shall take effect immediately. 



CHAPTER 314. 

AN ACT to amend Chapter Forty-one of the Laws of eighteen hun- 
dred and sixty-one, entitled " An Act to Incorporate the 
Veterans of the National Guard, Seventh Regiment, First 
Division, New York State Militia.'' 

Passed May 23, 1878. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in Semite and 
As*cntb///, do enact as follows : 

Section, 1. Section 1 of Chapter forty-one of the laws of eighteen 
hundred and sixty-one, entitled " An Act to Incorporate the Veterans 
of the National Guard, Seventh Regiment, First Division, New 
York State Militia," is hereby amended to read as follows: 

Sec. 1. Linus W. Stephens, Morgan L. Smith, John M. Catlin, 
Washington R. Vermilye, and such other persons as now are associ- 
ated as the Veterans of the National Guard, or may hereafter become 
associated with them, are hereby constituted a body corporate by the 
name of "The Veterans of the Seventh Regiment, N. G. S. N. Y." 

Sec. 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 



THE BENEVOLENT FUND OF THE VETERANS OF 
THE SEVENTH REGIMENT, N. G. S. N. Y. 

CHAPTER 89. 

AN ACT to amend Chapter Forty-one of the Laws of eighteen 
hundred and sixty-one, entitled, " An Act to Incorporate the 
Veterans of the National Guard, Seventh Regiment, First 
' Division, New York State Militia." 

Passed April gth, 1882, three-fourths being present. 
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and 
Assembly, do enact as follows : 

Section 1. — Section Four of Chapter Forty-one of the Laws of 
eighteen hundred and sixty-one, entitled, " An Act to Incorporate 



6 

the Veterans of the National Guard, Seventh Regiment, First 
Division, New York State Militia," is hereby amended to read as 
follows : 

Si-ctioii 4. — The said Corporation may purchase and hold real 
or personal estate, and is authorized to accumulate a fund for the 
pecuniary relief of indigent and reduced members, and of their 
widows and children, to be called the " Benevolent Fund of the 
Veterans of the Seventh Regiment, N. G. S. N. Y," and said Fund 
shall be administered by Officers of said Association, who shall be 
the Colonel, Paymaster, and Chaplain of said Association, as Trust- 
ees. The said Fund shall be invested in the manner required by 
law for the investment of trust funds, and no more than its income 
shall be used or disbursed in any one year. Additions to the 
said Fund may be made by appropriations from the said Associa- 
tion, by donation, and by legacies and devises to the said Associa- 
tion, which it is hereby authorized to receive and apply in the man- 
ner aforesaid. 

This Act shall take effect immediately. 



EXTRACTS FROM THE CONSTITUTION. 



ARTICLE I. 

OFFICEES. 

The officers of the Association shall be a Colonel. Lieut. -Colonel, 
Major, Adjutant, Quartermaster, Paymaster, Chaplain, Commissary, 
Surgeon, ten Captains and ten Lieutenants, who shall constitute a 
Board of Management, and who shall conduct the affairs of the 
Association. 

The said Colonel, Lieut. -( 'olonel, Major. Adjutant and Paymaster 
shall respectively be ex-officio President, first and second Vice-Presi- 
dents, Secretary and Treasurer. 

All officers shall hold office for two years. 



ARTICLE IV. 

Section 1. Any person who shall have received an honorable dis- 
charge, or become entitled thereto, from the former Twenty-seventh, 
present Seventh Regiment, N. G. S. N. Y., having served therein 
the full term required by law at the date of his enlistment (seven 
years under the old law, or five years under the present law), or who, 
1 icing a member of the Seventh Regiment, N. Gr. S. N. Y., may have 
entered the Army or Navy of the United States during the War of 
the Rebellion, and been honorably discharged from such service, or 
who may remain in the Army or Navy of the United States, shall be 
eligible to membership in this Association. 

ARTICLE V. 

UNIFORMED BATTALION. 

The Uniformed Battalion, as organized by this Association, shall 
consist of such members as shall have uniformed and subscribed to 
its bv-laws. 



8 

Statement Referred to in the Introduction which 

appeared in the press, and in circulars, 

on February 19th, 1884. 



A STATEMENT OF THE 
Reasons why regiments of the National Guard S. N. Y. should not 
allow their names and numerical designations to be used by any uni- 
formed battalions, organizations or associations. 

I. — The practical result of the existence of uniformed 
organizations bearing the names and numerical designations of 
regiments of the National Guard has been to induce young men, 
who would otherwise continue to perform active military duty 
in the National Guard, to take their discharge from the service 
of the State to join the uniformed veteran battalions. For this 
reason the extraordinary efforts to make such uniformed battalions 
attractive by expensive and showy uniforms, by parades and ex- 
cursions, and by other festivities, is a positive detriment to the 
National Guard, and the existence of such uniformed veteran 
battalions has become a standing menace to the strength and 
welfare of the regiments whose names they have assumed. 

II. — The names and numerical designations of the National 
Guard regiments have been assumed and used by the uniformed 
veteran battalions without the authority of the regiments or of 
their officers, and have of late been carried upon parades and ex- 
cursions and to balls and dinners, in this and other States. Those 
who are charged by law with the maintenance of the good name 
of any regiment should not be held responsible for the conduct of 
those over whom they have no control ; but so long as any uni- 
formed battalion bears the name of a National Guard regiment, 
such regiment will be held responsible by the public for any want 
of discipline in such unformed battalion, and for the unsoldierly 
and ungentlemanly conduct of any of its members while in uni- 
form. Would any business man allow his name or the name of 
his firm, or would any corporation allow its name to be used by 
persons, however respectable, who are not responsible to or sub- 
ject to the orders of such firm or corporation ? And yet the 
National Guard regiments have quietly submitted to the assump- 
tion and use of their names and numbers by those who were once 



9 

members of these regiments, but who are no longer held to any 
duty therein, and are not responsible for their present character 
and welfare. 

III. — An important objection to the use of the names and 
numerical designations of the National Guard regiments by the 
uniformed veteran battalions, is the fact that such organizations 
assume and use in an official manner, and upon parades and 
public occasions, the military insignia, and the military titles 
which belong only to officers who hold or have held commissions 
in the regular or volunteer service of the United States, or in the 
National Guard and militia of the several States. It is fair to 
presume that military titles are of some value to those who have 
won them on the battle-field, or by long and faithful service in 
the regular army or the National Guard ; but in these uniformed 
veteran battalions military titles are thoughtlessly assumed, and 
are officially and publicly used by persons who have never held 
commissions that entitled them to such titles, rank and distinc- 
tion. It is noticeable that in organizations of the veterans of the 
late war this abuse does not exist, and military titles, gallantly 
earned, are duly respected, and they are not assumed by those 
who have never legally held them. When the attention of 
honorable men is called to the fact that, by assuming and using 
military titles to which they have no right, a great injustice is 
done to those who have held or now hold military commissions, 
it can hardly be supposed that the practice will be continued. 

IV. — The unauthorized wearing of military uniforms by organ- 
izations not a part of the United States Army or of the National 
Guard, and not vecerans of the late war, depreciates the character 
and reputation of all military service and is an affront to all, 
whether officers or privates, who are held by law to the military 
service of the State or the Nation. Men of mature years who 
leave their business to parade the public streets with music and 
•banners, and decked out with sword, chapeau and feathers, or 
who consent to appear in public in other than the ordinary attire 
of the citizen and the gentleman, should surely have some sub- 
stantial reason or some manly and noble object to justify them in 
so doing and to secure themselves from public ridicule. Such an 
object is apparent in the parades of the National Guard and of 
the veterans of former wars, and is claimed to exist in the parades 



1(1 

of some benevolent, Masonic, and other societies. Even boys at 
school wear military uniforms without objection, because it con- 
tributes to their discipline and physical improvement. But what 
reason, excuse or apology can there be for the parade or public 
appearance in ostentatious military uniform of the ex-members of 
a militia organization who are legally exempt from military duty, 
who are not organized for the defense of the city, the State, or the 
country, and who have no well-recognized and generally approved 
object for semi-military parade or fantastic display. 

V. — The uniformed " veteran " battalions should not be allowed 
to use the names and numerical designations of National Guard 
regiments, because the assumption of the name of " veteran " by 
the very young men who publicly appear in the uniform of such 
battalions is discourteous to the gallant veterans of the last war, as 
well as to those who by long and distinguised service in the 
National Guard and by mature years, may be fairly entitled to 
that designation. To be eligible to wear the regalia of these 
uniformed "veteran" battalions, it is only necessary to perform 
five years of indifferent service in the militia of the State, and at 
the age of twenty-three years young men may, and sometimes do, 
lay aside the modest uniform of the private soldier in the National 
Guard in exchange for the chapeau and sword and uniform of a 
general officer, and parade in public as "veterans." It is clearly 
the duty of the National Guard regiments to protect the 
" veterans " of the war, as well as the real "veterans" of the 
National Guard, from the ridicule which this abuse brings upon 
that distinguished and honorable title. 

Associations of the exempt and veteran members of the National 
Guard regiments for benevolent and social purposes, and to 
cherish and preserve pleasant memories of the service, are uni- 
versally approved, and have the hearty sympathy and support of 
every officer and member serving in the National Guard ; and 
every man who has faithfully served his term of enlistment should 
be proud to be a member of such an association. It is only the 
uniformed battalions, composed of exempt members of the 
National Guard, that are no credit but a positive detriment to the 
regiments whose names and numerical designations they, without 
authority, assume and use. 



11 

The undersigned, commandants of regiments of the National 
Guard S. N. Y., approve of the above statement, and recommend 
that the use of the names and numerical designations of regiments 
by uniformed battalions, organizations or associations be prohibited. 

(Signed) 

Emmons Clark, Colonel Seventh Regiment. 
George D. Scott, Colonel Eighth Regiment. 
Wm. Seward, Jr., Colonel Ninth Regiment. 
Frederick Unbekant, Colonel Eleventh Regiment. 
James H. Jones, Colonel Twelfth Regiment. 
James McLeer, Colonel Fourteenth Regiment. 
Josiah Porter, Colonel Twenty-second Regiment. 
Rodney C. Ward, Colonel Twenty-third Regiment. 
Louis Finkelmeier, Colonel Thirty-second Regiment. 
Truman V. Tuttle, Colonel Forty-seventh Regiment. 
James Cavanagh, Colonel Sixty-ninth Regiment. 
Richard Vose, Colonel Seventy-first Regiment. 

The undersigned. General officers of the National Guard 
S. N. Y., approve of the above recommendation of commandants 
of regiments. 

(Signed) 

Alexander Shaler, Major-General Commanding First 

Division. 
W. G. Ward. Brigadier-General Commanding First 

Brigade. 
Louis Fitzgerald, Brigadier-General Commanding Second 

Brigade. 
C. T. Christensen, Brigadier-General Third Brigade, 

Commanding Second Division. 
William H. Brownell, Brigadier-General Commanding 

Fourth Brigade. 
Dated New York and Brooklyn, February, 1884. 



12 

NEW York, March 3, 1884. 

Major-General Alexander Shaler, 

New York : 
General — 

I have concluded, after mature consideration, to withdraw 
my signature from the statement puhlished some days since, 
affecting the uniformed battalions of the National Guard. In 
the hasty perusal of the paper when presented to me for sig- 
nature I failed to properly weigh the harsh expressions, un- 
just aspersions, and unmerited rebuke contained therein. I 
feel that by my action I have inflicted deep wounds upon those 
I consider it an honor to call friends, and this being repug- 
nant to my soldierly instincts, leads me to ask that my signa- 
ture be stricken from the paper in question. I have the honor 
to be, very respectfully, 

William Seward Jr., 

Colonel Ninth Regiment, N. G. 8. N. Y. 

Headquarters Twenty-third Regiment, \ 
March 8, 1884, ] 

Sir: In reply to the resolutions adopted by your association 
February 21, relative to my action in signing a circular depre- 
cating the wearing of uniforms by exempt members of the 
National Guard and the assumption of military titles and in- 
signia of rank by the officers of the Uniformed Veteran Bat- 
talion, such officers not being commissioned by the State. I 
have to reply, that, while conceding that courtesy would 
seem to demand that the responsible heads of the Uniformed 
Veteran Battalion should have been notified of the contem- 
plated action of the signers of the document in question pre- 
vious to its being given to the public through the medium of 
the press, I feel that I cannot consistently or honorably with- 
draw ni\ signature therefrom or recede from the position 
taken hy inc. 

A careful consideration of the document convinces me upon 
reflection that it contains statements which do not apply to 
the Veteran Battalion of the Twenty-third Regiment, unwar- 
rantable expressions, that I should insist upon having ex- 
punged before signature, were the matter again to be submit- 
ted tome. M\ action was entirely free from any personal 
feeling and purely of an official character as the commanding 
officer of the Twenty-third Regiment. Respectfully, 



To Fredrick II. Rand, Secretary. 



Rodney C. AV \i;i>. 



13 



New York, February 20, 1884. 

At a meeting of the Board of Management of the Veterans of the 
Seventh Regiment, N. G. S. N. Y., held this day, the following was 
unanimously adopted : 

Whereas, the Constitution of the Veterans of the Seventh Regi- 
ment. N. G. S. N. Y., provides in Article 5 for a Uniformed Battalion 
within its membership, and whereas the propriety of the adoption of 
said Article has been assailed, as being detrimental to the welfare of 
the National Guard, in a printed circular, with the name of Col. 
Emmons Clark, Commanding the Seventh Regiment, N. G. S. N. Y., 
as its leading signer. 

Therefore, be it resolved that a Committee be appointed to inves- 
tigate the matter, and report at a meeting of the Association, at as 

early a day as practicable. 

H. L. Freeland, 
Adjutant and Ex-qfficio Secretary. 

colonel Winchester's reply to the statement. 

Headquarters Veterans of the Seventh Regt., } 

National Guard S. N.Y., > 

New York, February 23, 1884. ) 

In order to prevent misunderstanding and misapprehension on 
the part of the public, and the members of the Veteran Association, 
which I have the honor to command, in regard to the circular issued 
by some of the Colonels and Generals of the First and Second Divis- 
ion, relating to Uniformed Battalions, which has been so suddenly 
sprung upon us, I desire to say that we cannot but express our 
astonishment and amazement that Col. Emmons Clark, com- 
manding the Seventh Regiment, N. G. S. N. Y., should have 
signed such a circular. I have never, since my election to the Com- 
mand of the Veteran Association and the Uniformed Battalion, 
received one word, officially, from Col. Clark or from any officer of 
the Seventh Regiment, that the Uniformed Battalion was a detri- 
ment to the Regiment. Had any formal notice been sent to me or 
any other officer of the Battalion, requesting an interview, one cer- 



14 

tainly would have been accorded, and we believe that any misun- 
derstanding would unquestionably have been adjusted. What seems 
strange to us is this : that Col. Clark, living as it were under the 
same roof, and in daily intercourse with us, and always apparently 
of the pleasantest nature, should not have in some manner suggested 
to us that such a circular was being prepared, and was about to be 
issued. It seems to us unkind, ungenerous, and unmanly ; it is an 
apparent insult, and intended to degrade the officers and members 
of the Uniformed Battalion, as well as the members of the whole 
Association. Joined together as we are for one sole object, to aid 
and benefit the Seventh Regiment in every way possible, and con- 
scientiously believing that we were aiding and benefiting the Regi- 
ment by our acts, we feel that no more unfair way of attacking us 
could possibly be found. Among those who are uniformed will be 
found the oldest and most distinguished and esteemed ex-members of 
the Seventh Regiment, many of whom held office for a life-time, and 
devoted a life service to the benefit and discipline of the Regiment, 
" before many of the present officers were born," and many of them 
distinguished themselves during the War of the Rebellion. Their 
sons, their grandsons, and other relatives are serving in the Regi- 
ment to-day. 

There is not one among us who would ever have put on the uni- 
form that has been so fiercely characterized by the circular, had we 
for one moment imagined that we were not doing the Regiment a 
service. 

A committee has been appointed to investigate the whole matter, 
and we ask the public to suspend judgment in this case until a report 
is made, which will be done at an early date. 

The great injury intended is weakened by the vulgar and ungentle- 
manly expressions contained in the circular. 

Very respectfully, 

L. W. Winchester, 
Colonel Commanding. 



15 

COLONEL EMMONS CLARK'S REPLY TO COLONEL WINCHESTER. 

Headquarters Seuenth Regiment, N. Y. S. N. G., ) 
New York, February 26, 1884. J 

If ex-Quartermaster L. W. Winchester, who is President of the 
Veteran Association of this Regiment and nominally Colonel there- 
of, had attempted, in his circular dated February 23, to answer any 
part of the statement recently published and signed by all the Gen- 
erals and Colonels of the National Guard in New York and Brook- 
lyn, it is probable that some of those officers who he accuses of 
u vulgar and ungentlemanly expressions" might have thought proper 
to reply. But the Ann// and Navy Journal, the highest authority 
in the United States on Army and National Guard affairs, in its 
issue of February 23, answers them as follows: 

" The man who wears a uniform or assumes a title to which he 
" has no legal claim is possessing himself, so far as in his power, of 
" property to which he has no right. The National Guard of New 
" York have been especial sufferers from this form of dishonest 
'• appropriation, until their patience has finally become exhausted. 
" and some of them have united in a vigorous protest against the 
" nuisance." 

Instead of defending the assumption and use of military titles by 
men who have never fairly earned them in any military service, and 
the wearing of military uniforms by men who are not in the military 
service of the State or the Nation and who are not veterans of the 
late war, the circular referred to is evidently intended to divert pub- 
lic attention by a tirade of personal abuse of the Colonel of the 
Seventh Regiment. The undersigned cannot be drawn into any 
personal controversy on a subject which concerns only the welfare 
of the National Guard ; nor can he be induced to assume an attitude 
personally hostile to any part of the exempt and veteran members of 
the Seventh Regiment. It is necessary, however, to state, in reply 
to the circular, that it is a pretense for the writer thereof to assert 
that he did not know that the Colonel of the Seventh Regiment and 
many of its officers and members, although on friendly terms with 
the officers and members of the Uniformed Veteran Corps, were very 
hostile to the existence of such corps, for the reason that they be- 
ieved it to be detrimental to the interests and welfare of the Regi- 



16 

ment. In May, is 1 };"), the undersigned and a committee of the 
Board of ( officers of the Seventh Regiment; officially called the atten- 
tion of the then ( 'ommandant of this Uniformed Veteran Corps to the 
injury done to the Regiment by the existence of such corps, and 
from that day to tins there have been periodical outbreaks,* though 
no public demonstrations, of this feeling. It has been often pre- 
dicted, and by many persons, that an open conflict must come, 
so >ner or later, between the Seventh Regiment and this Uniformed 
Veteran Corps, in which one or the other must unconditionally sur- 
render, and any one prominently connected with either cannot be 
ignorant of the facts as above stated. If this necessary action had 
been taken only by the Colonel of the Seventh Regiment, or by its 
Board of officers, some notice would probably have been given of the 
publication of the impending protest ; but as it was the joint action! 
of the Generals and Colonels of the First and Second Divisions, 
without an exception, in defense of the interests of the whole Na- 
tional Guard, no such notice could be expected or was advisable. 
The writer of this remarkable circular would seem to convey the idea 
that the Seventh is the only regiment in New York and Brooklyn, 
and that its Colonel is the only one holding that rank. He is hereby 
informed that the Seventh Regiment is only an eighth part of the 
National Guard of the two cities; that the five Generals and the 
eleven other Colonels who signed the statement to which he objects 
are men of large experience and who have earned the commissions 
they hold and the titles they bear ; that they are as competent to 

* Colonel Emmons Clark in a communication to General Marshall Lefferts in May, 
1875, in reference to a proposed joint trip of the Seventh Regiment and Uniformed 
Battalion to Boston, expressed an opinion, that the adoption of the present uniform, 
u ould tend to induce young men to leave the regiment, earlier than they otherwise 
would, in order to join the Uniformed Battalion, but experience proved that he was 
mistaken, and in consequence of the many cordial and affable communications from 
Colonel Emmons Clark (hereinafter printed), it was cone hided, that lie had withdrawn 
his objection. No communication has at any time been received by the Board of 
Officers of the Veterans, in reference to the uniform, from a Committee appointed 
bj the Board of Officers of the Seventh Regiment. The Board of Officers of the 
Veterans ol the Seventh Regiment are not cognizant of the periodical outbreaks 
referred t< >. 

• While Colonel Clark intimates in the foregoing communication that the state- 
ment was published at the instigation and after conference with the other officers of 
the National Guard whose names are signed thereto, the committee have positive 
assurance that he was the author of the statement, and that he personally presented 
it to most of the other officers for their signature. 



17 

judge of what is detrimental to the regiments they command, and to 
the National Guard generally, as any ex-staff officer of this or any 
other regiment ; that live of these officers are graduates of the Seventh 
Regiment and love that organization as well as he does, and far 
more wisely; that six of them, viz., Shaler, Christensen, Fitzgerald, 
McLeer, Porter and Cavanagh, are veterans of the late war, and 
entered the service of the United States in 1861, about 
the same time that the writer of the circular retired from the 
militia to the congenial pursuits of peace. No Letter evidence is 
needed that these uniformed veteran battalions should he abolished 
than the fact thai the commander of the largest of them, in a pub- 
lic circular, can deliberately apply to these real veterans of the late 
war, and to the other distinguished National Guard officers signing 
the statement, such epithets as "vulgar and ungentlemanly," and to 
the Colonel of the regiment in which he was once a staff officer, a 
variety of additional ones. Vituperation must have become a pro- 
fession. 

That the public may understand one important part of this matter, 
so far as the Seventh Regiment is concerned, it is necessary to state 
that there are in the City of New York and vicinity about 3,000 
exempt oi veteran members; that of this number about 1,200, more 
or less, are members of an association called the "Veterans of the 
Seventh Regiment," chartered, not for mil/fur/), hut for benevolent 
and social purposes; that of this 1,200 members of this association 
about 100 have obtained and worn military uniforms, and their offi- 
cers wear the military insignia ol rank or grade, although in express 
violation of Section 59, Chapter 299, Laws of 1883;* that the ex- 
empt or veteran members ol' the regiment who do not wear uniforms, 
say 2, 500 in number, are, so far as known, opposed to the uniformed 
Veteran Corps ; that the 400 uniformed members of the Association 
have obtained control of it ; that the untmiformed membery of the 
Association are practically excluded from office or from any part in 
its management, and, therefore, naturally absent themselves from its 
meetings ; that the usefulness ol' the Association is greatly impaired 
because the men who control it are chiefly interested in fancy uni- 



* By reference to the section referred to, hereinafter printed, p. 60, it will be 
seen that Colonel Clark is in error. 



is 

forms, parades, excursions, and other festivities ; thai consequently 
the benevolent fund of the Association, which should long since 
have readied a large amount, is now only $5,000, and very inade- 
quate to the relief of needy members and their families ; t: and that 
some of the members of the uniformed Vetera n corps who procured 
uniforms, supposing that they were benefiting or honoring the regi- 
ment thereby, have long since laid them aside and have refused to 
wear them again in street parades or on any other occasion. While 
the President or commanding officer of the Association mayprobably 
represent a majority of the 100 uniformed members of the Association, 
he does not properly represent the ununiformed members to any con- 
siderable extent, nor the exempt and veteran members who are not 
enrolled in the Association, nor all of the members who have been 
induced to procure uniforms. The time may come when the ununi- 
formed members of the Association and the uniformed members who 
desire to promote the interests of the regiment, will assert their rights 
and restore the Association to its legal and legitimate purposes. 

Emmons Clark, 
Colonel Seventh Regiment, JS 7 . G. S. N. Y. 



* See Supplementary Report of the Committee hereinafter printed, p. 24. from 
which it will be seen that Colonel Clark is again in error. 



19 

New York, March i, 1884. 

REQUEST FOR A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE VETERANS 
OF THE SEVENTH REGIMENT, N. G. S. N. Y. 

Colonel Locke W. Winchester, 

Commanding Veterans of the Seventh Regiment, N. G. S. N. Y.: 
Dear Sir — We, the undersigned members of the Veterans of the 
Seventh Regiment, National Guard, S. N. Y., respectfully request 
that a special meeting of the Association be called for Saturday even- 
ing, March 8th, at 8 o'clock, to hear the report of the Committee of 
the Board of Management, appointed February 20th, to investigate 
a Statement issued and signed by some of the Colonels of the various 
regiments, of which Colonel Clark was the first signer, and to trans- 
act such other business as may be brought before the meeting. 

Wm. R. MacDiarmid, 
H. L. Freeland, 

W. A. HOEBER, 

George P. Edgar, 
Fred A.. Goodwin, 
Edward A. Kingsland, 
W. H. Jao son, 
Chas. B. Bostwick, 
J as. Bleecker, 
Francis A. Silva. 



Headquarters Veterans of the Seventh Regt., } 

National Guard, S. N. Y., > 

New York, March 3, 1884. ) 

A special meeting of this association will be held at the Armory 
on Saturday evening, March 8th, at 8 o'clock, to hear the report of 
the Committee of the Board of Management, appointed February 
20th, to investigate a Statement issued and signed by some of the 
Colonels of the various regiments, of which Colonel Clark was the 
first signer, and to transact such other business as may be brought 
before the meeting. 

L. W. Winchester, 

Colonel Commanding. 



20 



SUMMARY OF PROCEEDINGS OF THE SPECIAL 
MEETING. 

The following is a Summary of Proceedings of the [Special 
Meeting of the Veterans of the Seventh Eegiment, N. G. S. 
N. Y., held in accordance with the order of March 3rd, 1884, 
and at which, upwards of six hundred members were present. 

HENEY L. FEEELAND, 

Adjutant and ex officio Secretary. 

Special Meeting of the Veterans of the Seventh Eegiment, 
N. G. S. N. Y., held on March 8th, 1884. 

Lieut. Colonel Charles B. Bostwick in the Chair : 

"Please give your attention to the report of the committee 
of the Board of Management. " 

Colonel Locke W. Winchester, chairman of the Special 
Committee, then read the following report. 

REPORT 

OF THE 

COMMITTEE OF THE BOAED OF MANAGEMENT. 

The Committee of the Board of Management appointed at 
the meeting of February 20th last, to investigate the semi- 
official statements contained in a circular issued and signed 
by some of the Colonels of various regiments, and of which 
Colonel Emmons Clark was the first signer, beg leave to sub- 
mit the following report: 

In this printed circular we find the following statement: 
" The practical result, of the existence of uniformed organi- 
sations bearing the names and numerical designations of 
•• Regiments of the National Guard has been to induce young 
" men, who would otherwise continue to perform active 
" military duty in the National Guard, to. take their dis- 
•• charge from the service of the State to join the uniformed 
" veteran battalions." 



21 

As to this statement — in order to get at the facts and to 
obtain data that would be reliable, your committee sent a 
postal card to each of the uniformed members of the " Vet- 
erans of the Seventh Regiment, N. Gr. S. N. Y.," asking 
certain questions, and we have received 352 replies. 

The following are the questions and summarized replies: 

Qucs. 1. Were you induced to take your discharge from 
the Seventh Regiment, to join the uniformed battalion? 

To this question all have answered in the negative. 

Ques. 2. Did you join the regiment with a view of becom- 
ing a member of the uniformed battalion? 

To this we have three answers in the affirmative. 

Ques. 3. Since becoming a member of the Veteran Organi- 
zation how many recruits have you procured for the Seventh 
Regiment? 

In answer to this question, we learn that 296 recruits have 
been actually added to the company rollsof the Seventh Regi- 
ment by the uniformed members of the Veteran Organization. 

Ques. 4. Were yon in the IT. S. Army or Navy? 

In answer to this question we learn that 49 were in either 
the Army or Navy 1861-65, some of whom had served with 
the regiment in 1861. 

Ques. 5. Where you in the U. S. Service 1861-63 with the 
Seventh Regiment? 

In answer to this question we learn that 185 men were 
members of the Seventh Regiment 1861-63. Of this number 
156 were in the IT. S. Service with the Regiment. 

The following is a consolidated Summary of the terms of 
service in the Seventh Regiment of the Uniformed Veterans, 
viz. : 



SUMMARY 



AGE 



YEARS OP SEH- 
VICE IN SEVENTH 
REGIMENT, N. G. 

S. X. V. 



No. of 

Men. 



3 
22 

85 

140 

70 

25 

3 

3 

1 



Years of 



Xo. of 
Men. 



25 

25 to 30 
30 to 40 
40 to 50 
50 to GO 
GO to 70 
70 to 751 
75 to 80| 
811 



352 



8 

12 

145 

58 

107 

16 

2 

2 

1 

1 



352 



Years of 
Service. 



REMARKS 



9 to 
15 to 



Service with the Seventh Reg- 
iment, 1861-63: 

1 85 men of the 352 uniformed 
members who have responded to 
the postal inquiry were in the 
Seventh Regiment. 1861-1863,of 
this number 156 volunteered 
with the Regiment. 

Service in the Army or Navy, 
1861-1865: 

49 men of the 352 who have 
responded, enlisted in the Army 
or Navy, some of whom were 
with the Seventh Regiment in 
1861. 

The 352 men who have re- 
sponded have procured 296 re- 
cruits for the Seventh Regiment 



93 <?e are over 30 years of age. 
68 °/o are over 40 years of age. 

94 <?o have served 7 yrs. and over. 
36 f have served 9 yrs. and over. 



It will be seen from the foregoing facts that the semi-offi- 
cial statement made in the circular to which wo have referred, 
to the effeel that the practical result of the existence of the 
Uniformed Veteran Organization has been to induce young 
men to lake their full and honorable discharges from the 
Seventh Regiment in order to join the Veteran organization, 
is erroneous, ae the Veteran organization has not only not de- 
pleted the numerical strength of the Regiment hut has large- 
ly added t<> it. 



23 

The next statement in the circular is in reference to the 
uniform, and is as follows: 

" For this reason the extraordinary efforts to make such 
" uniformed battalion attractive, by expensive and showy 
" uniforms, by parades and excursions, and by other festivi- 
" ties, is a positive detriment of the National Guard ." 

The committee hardly deem it necessary to allude to this 
subject. It is well-known both to the older members of the 
regiment and of the Veteran Organization, that a uniform 
was adopted in April, 1861, immediately after the organiza- 
tion had received its charter from the Legislature. This uni- 
form was used for several years on important public emergen- 
cies, but as it was not found to be entirely appropriate, a 
more suitable and serviceable uniform was subsequently adopt- 
ed, distinctive in its character, and which cannot be mistaken 
for the uniform of the regiment. 

The uniform now worn by the members of the Veteran Or- 
ganization was adopted through the exertions of its lamented 
Colonel Marshall Lefferts. From the facts presented for 
your consideration and from those within your knowledge, it 
is evident that the uniform has undoubtedly served to 
strengthen and maintain the interest of the older members, 
and to preserve and continue their recollections of service in 
the regiment, and at the same time to make the organization 
more serviceable in any public emergency during which the 
Commander-in-Chief might need their services. 

With reference to the statement in the circular that the 
uniformed battalion of the Veteran Organization is a standing- 
menace to the strength and welfare of the Regiment, we in- 
vite your attention to the facts already presented, which dis- 
prove such allegation. 

In regard to the imputation that the veteran organization 
has assumed to use, without authority, numerical designations 
and military titles, we beg to refer to the opinion* of Messrs. 
Asa Bird Gardner and Jas. G. Janeway. 

There are many statements in the circular to which we be- 
lieve it is unnecessary to invite your attention, as they carry 
their own refutation in their context. 

* Copy of opinion not furnished in time for this publication. 



24 

We learn however, from the circular, with deep regret and 
surprise, that persons may receive full and honorable dischar- 
ges from the Seventh Regiment who have only performed five 
years of indifferent service therein. 

In conclusion we beg to say that the history of the Veteran 
Organization has shown, for nearly a quarter of a century, the 
deep and abiding interest of the members in the welfare, pros- 
perity and reputation of the Seventh Regiment, and we de- 
plore and discourage any action which tends, or may tend, in 
the least degree, to mar the harmony and affection which has 
heretofore always existed between the two organizations. 
All of which is resjDectfully submitted. 
Dated New York, March 8th, 1884. 

L. W. WINCHESTER, 

Chairman. 
JOHN C. GIFFING, 
EDWARD G. ARTHUR, 
HENRY W. T. MALI, 
HENRY H. HOLLY, 
H. L. FREELAND, 

Committee. 

SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT. 

New York, March 8th, 1884. 
The Committee of the Board of Management appointed 
February 20th, beg leave to state, that while making the inquiry 
then directed, they had their attention called to a communication 
affecting this organization, which appeared in the New York 
daily papers of February 26th, and also in a circular signed by 
Colonel Emmons Clark, a member of this organization. 
In that communication it is stated : 

" That the usefulness of the Association is greatly impared, 
'' because the men who control it are chiefly interested in fancy 
"• uniforms, parades excursions and other festivities, that conse- 
•' quently, the Benevolent Fund of the Association, which should 
" long since have reached a large amount, is now only $5,000, 
" and very inadequate to the relief of needy members and their 
" families." 

It is well known to the older members of this Veteran Orq-ani- 



25 

zation, that the oenevolent features in its incorporation have a 
ways been only one of the incidental objects. 

Your Committee believing that your attention should be 
invited to this subject, have the honor to submit herewith the 
report of the Paymaster, showing the present financial condition 
of the organization, as compared with that of 1875 ; (about the 
time when the present uniform was adopted), which conclusively 
answers so much ol the statement, as your Committee deem 
deserving of such notice. 

Respectfully submitted, 

L. W. WINCHESTER, 

Chairman of Committee. 



REPORT OF THE PAYMASTER. 

New York, March 8th, 1884. 
Colonel L. W. Winchester, 

Chairman of the Committee of the Board of Management. 

Dear Sir : 

In response to the request of your Committee for a statement 
of the financial condition of "the Veterans of the Seventh Regi- 
ment, N. G. S. N. Y. ," I beg leave to hand you herewith the 
following report : 

1875. 

April 19th, General Fund cash balance 

(see 16th Annual Report), - - $247 81 

Investments — 1 1 Shares Bank of 

New York - $1,100 
$6,000 U. S. 6 per cent. Bonds - 6,000 



7,100 00 

Total - - $7,347 81 



1854. 
March 8th, General Fund, cash balance - $600 80 

Benevolent Fund, cash in N. Y. Life Ins. 

and Trust Co. , at 4 per cent. - - 5,261 00 

Reserve Fund, cash in N. Y. Life Ins. and 

Trust Co., at 4 per cent. - - - 5^57^48 



Total - - - $n.440 2\ 



Increase, - - - ~ $4,092 47 

Total disbursements for Charity to date, $6,907 73. 



26 

That the Reserve Fund of the Organization has never been 
drawn upon for any purpose whatever, but has increased from 
year to year since I875, and the accrued interest invested. 

The Benevolent Fund, as Incorporated in the Charter of April 
19th, 1882, comprises the sum of $5,000, to which has been 
added, by the contribution of the Uniformed Members on October 
31st, 1883, the sum of $251, and by the contribution of Mr. 
H. R. Searle, not a member of the Organization, the sum of $10. 
making a total of $5, 261.00 The. income of this Fund is devo- 
ted to charitable purposes only, and no other draft on it can be 
made. The disbursements for charity entered in above report 
have been made from the income aforesaid and from the re- 
ceipts of fees of new members. 

That no worthy appeal for assistance from any member of the 
Organization has ever been refused, and that the charitable work 
of the Organization has increased four-fold since 1876, and is 
now at its maximum. 

Very respectfully, 

EDWARD A. KINGSLAND, 

Paymaster. 

I hereby certify that I have examined the above 
report, and that it is true and correct. 

E. G. ARTHUR, 

Chairman Finance Committee, 

Veterans of the Seventh Regiment. 



The chairman also read the opinion of Messrs. Asa Bird 
Gardner and James G. Janeway; to the effect that the Veter- 
ans of the Seventh Regiment, N. G. S. N. Y,, are an inde- 
pendent military organization recognized by the State, and 
in the present Military Code, and that they have not assumed to 
use military designations, uniforms or titles of rank contrary 
to law. 

Lieut. Col. Bostwick then resigned the chair to Col. Win- 
chester, who cautioned the members to be temperate in 
speech, and to avoid personal allusions in debate. 



27 

Bvt. Brig. General Charles Eoome, late U. S. Vols, said: 
Mr. Chairman— I desire to offer the following resolutions : 

RESOLUTIONS. 

Whereas, the Committee of the Board of Management have, 
at this meeting, rendered their report relative to certain allega- 
tions or imputations concerning this Veteran Organization, con- 
tained in a recent printed extra official and concerted circular, 
signed by Colonel Emmons Clark, Seventh Regiment, N. G. S. 
N. Y., and by several other commanding officers, and 

Whereas, such concerted circular appears to have been issued 
and published in the daily press and otherwise distributed, with 
a view, if possible, to bring discredit upon the uniformed mem- 
bers of this organization, and to complain of the use of its char- 
tered title, and also with a view to influence the Legislature of 
this State on a pending bill, and if possible, impair the efficiency of 
this Veteran Organization as one which the Commander-in-Chief 
may confidently call upon in a public emergency, and 

Whereas, such concerted circular, in its partial and errone- 
ous statement of facts, and the conclusions therefrom, has a ten- 
dency to mar the harmony and affectionate and respectful attach- 
ment, which has heretofore, for a quarter of a century, subsisted 
between the " Veterans of the Seventh Regiment," and the 
Seventh Regiment, N. G. S. N. Y. Now, therefore 

Resolved — -That this organization hereby approves and ratifies 
the report just rendered, and directs the same to be printed for 
distribution. 

Resolved — That this organization declares its unabated at- 
tachment and regard for the regiment, from which its members, 
after full and honorable service therein, have been chosen, and 
further expresses its pride in the regiment's character and reputa- 
tion, and an abiding interest in its welfare and prosperity as an 
integral part of the National Guard of this State. 

Resolved — That this organization will, as always heretofore, con- 
tinue by every proper means in its power to aid in maintaining 
the efficiency of the regiment, and to keep its ranks full, and to 
support it in every public emergency, and on every occasion of 
ceremony where its services, may, as heretofore, be invoked. 



28 

Rtsolvcd — That this organization deeply deplores the efforts of 
any individual member, or of officers of the National Guard, 
unconnected with this organization or with the regiment, to at- 
tempt to disturb the affectionate and respectful relations which 
have always subsisted between the two, and this organization 
further deplores and expresses its decided disapproval of any 
attempt to impair its efficiency or solidarity as an independent 
veteran military organization, chartered by the State, and 

Whereas, the members of this Veteran Organization, when vol- 
untarily enlisting and faithfully serving in the Seventh Regiment, 
the full term of years required by law, did not, by receiving full 
and honorable discharge become absolutely discharged from the 
State forces, but are still liable by law, under their original 
engagements for duty therein in time of insurrection or invasion, 
and 

Whereas, this Veteran Organization sought, and obtained trom 
the Legislature of this State, in March 1861, when Civil War was 
imminent, a charter which would render it efficient as an inde- 
pendent military organization for such a contingency, in which 
charter its veteran character, and the military designations of its 
officers were distinctly recognized, and 

Whereas, this Veteran Organization, in April 186 1, at request ot 
the military authorities, uniformed, equipped and drilled a bat- 
talion of its honorably discharged members of the regiment, 
consisting of all for whom arms could be supplied by the State, 
and performed then such public duty as was required, and again 
reported for and performed duty in the draft riots of 1863 and 
railroad riots of 1877, and 

Whereas, this Veteran Organization has always considered itself 
as an independent military organization, recognized by law, and 
subject, under the Military Code, to the orders of His Excel- 
lency the Governor, in case of emergency or necessity, to aid the 
National Guard in quelling invasion, insurrection, riot or breach 
of the peace. 

Resolved — That this organization, as a conservator of the peace, 
long recognized by the State, will continue as heretofore, to re- 
spond with fidelity and alacrity to the call of duty on a public 



29 

emergency, and to maintain the reputation of the Corps for strict 
and attentive performance thereof, and this organization invites 
attention to the services it has already performed, and to the char- 
acter of its members, and the record they have made for them- 
selves by long and honorable service in the Seventh Regiment, as 
evidences of the respect and confidence to which this organization 
believes itself entitled and justified in continuing to expect from 
the constituted authorities and citizens of this State. 

Resolved — That the Colonel of this organization, and six mem- 
bers to be appointed by the chair, constitute a committee with full 
power to take such action to protect and conserve the interests and 
rights of this organization as they may deem necessary or desir- 
able. 



General Charles Roome: 

Mr. Chairman — L would like to say to my friends and associates 
here just a few words. I will not take much of your time. I was 
one of the originators of this Association. I was one of the most 
active among you. I worked hard, and I worked faithfully, and 
why ? Because I was one of the sons of this regiment. Here I 
attained my military education, and here I devoted myself, my honor, 
and my services, and I am just as true a member of the Seventh 
Regiment to-day as any man here or in the active body. ( Cheers. ) 

Sir, a few of us, friends and associates, who marched side by 
side, touching elbow to elbow, gathered together for the purpose of 
considering what we could do to keep up the remembrance of each 
other. 1 was a young man then, and full of fire as a young cadet, 
but still the heart that beat in me then, beats as warmly now ; and 
so does that, of that noble and brave old man (Brevet Colonel 
Shumway), who was obliged just now to leave this room because 
the heat was too oppressive, although the heat was not too oppress- 
ive for him in the time of riots. (Applause.) 

Sir, in the paper which I see here there are one or two remarks 
which I confess have filled me with surprise. They read as follows : 

" The uniformed ' veteran ' battalions should not be allowed to 
" use the names and numerical designations of the National Guard 
" regiments, because the assumption of the name of ' veteran,' by 
" the very young men who publicly appear in the uniform of such 



30 

" battalions, is discourteous to the gallant veterans of the last war, 
" as well as by those who by long and distinguished service in the 
" National Guard, and by mature years, may be fairly entitled to 
" that designation." We had veterans in this regiment before the 
last war, and I was one of them then. 

" To be eligible to wear the regalia of these uniformed ' veteran ' 
" battalions, it is only necessary to perform five years of indifferent 
" service in the militia of the State, and at the age of twenty-three 
" years young men may, and sometimes do, lay aside the modest 
" uniform of the private soldier in the National Guard in exchange 
" for the chapeau and sword and uniform of a general officer, and 
" parade in public as ' veterans.' " 

Now, gentlemen, in this connection I would draw your attention to 
one point. I do not know who wrote this paper, but I am astonished 
that the Colonel of our regiment, whom we have honored so greatly 
in • the past, and would gladly honor in the future, should have 
signed a paper which pays so poor a compliment to himself, and his 
associate officers. (Applause.) 

I say to the gentlemen here, if inefficient and indifferent service is 
tolerated in this regiment, now, for five consecutive years, it is a very 
different regiment from what it was when I was a young man. 
(Applause.) 

Colonel, I sincerely hope that somebody will draw the attention 
of the Colonel of the Seventh to that article, for I am sure he will 
say : " I did not examine that paper carefully." 

This paper also speaks somewhere, 1 do not know where it is, of 
the desire of our young veterans (laughter) to put on uniform and 
parade in fuss and feathers. Look at the list of names down there. 
Do the distinguished officers of these regiments want to monopolize 
all the fuss and feathers and leave us nothing but work ? What 
possible cause have they for envy ? Our veteran uniform is simply 
a reminder of long and faithful service rendered when we wore the 
same uniform which they now wear; what has this organization 
ever done that would cause any one connected with the active 
regiment to offer us such stuff as this ? Is not this regiment dear to 
us all? Have we not served in it ? Are not our children marching 
in it now side by side ? I had four brothers in my company, and 
one brother-in-law, and after I put on the uniform of a veteran of 



31 

this regiment I brought my son and two ot my sister's children 
in to join its ranks. Is that the way to deplete the regiment? 
No ! If I had fifty children I would gladly bring them all in. My 
mother had twenty children, fourteen of whom were boys five of 
them belonged to this regiment. (Applause.) 

Colonel and Gentlemen, it is now many years since a few of us 
gathered to form the Veteran Association, of what was then the 
" National Guard," for there was, at that time, but one regiment 
called by that name. My associates were veterans of this present 
regiment, and their names are mentioned in the earliest records of 
this Association, together with my own : Col. Linus W. Stevens, whose 
heart and soul were in it ; Col. Morgan L. Smith, who was all sol- 
dier, all fire, and all veteran ; Col. Catlin, who first called us together 
to start this organization; and others whose names are there re- 
corded. These men formed this organization for the express purpose 
of strengthening the regiment and sustaining its reputation and who 
questions the efforts of their successors to carry out these noble ob- 
jects ? 

I >\ as but nineteen years of age — no, between eighteen and nine- 
teen — when I joined, and now I am nearly seventy-two; and although 
I may be marching with feeble, tottering steps to the grave, I will 
hold up the flag of my regiment to the very last, invoking curses on 
the heads of those who seek to lower or dishonor it. (Uproarious 
applause.) 

But let there be no anger or unkind feeling. A soldier should be 
magnanimous. If these gentlemen officers of other battalions have 
come into our paradise and corrupted any one connected with us, 
throw over them the broad mantle of charity. Let us act in love. 
Let us do all we can to bring about a happy termination of the pres- 
ent difficulty, or of any unkind feeling that may exist. Let us act 
like soldiers, like gentlemen, and like men. 

Strive for the prosperity of this regiment that we so dearly love. 
Let us maintain our name as an example to those who will come 
after us. Let them see how we act under provocation, and that 
under insult we will still uphold the honor of our organization. Go 
forth ; preach nothing but love and kindness. Pour oil on the troubled 
waters. Let us show an example to our children and children's 
children, that whatever we may be to an open and avowed foe, we 



32 

have nothing but affection for those that are connected with us. 
Though for a moment they may be misguided, may God forgive 
them. Let us do the same; but keep your powder dry. (Great ap- 
plause.) 

Hon. William A. Darling: 

Mr. Chairman — I rise to second these resolutions. Although I 
am not a uniformed member of this organization, I regard the ques- 
tion that has brought this great assemblage here to-night as one 
that reaches further than the uniform that is worn, and one that affects 
the status of every member of the Veteran organization. 

I feel, Mr. Chairman, that I have a right to stand here and de- 
fend this organization from all assaults from whatever source they 
may come. Can it be possible that the famous and magnificent 
regiment to which we have belonged, and for which we have so 
much love and admiration, has excited the hatred and jealousy of 
other organizations, and that they have conspired together to in- 
veigle the worthy Colonel of the Seventh Regiment into a conspir- 
acy to enter our ranks and cause discord and dissension between 
members of the Seventh Regiment and the Seventh Regiment 
Veterans ? Upon no other hypothesis can I reconcile such a pro- 
ceeding as this. 

Now, gentlemen, whatever we may decide to do, whatever action 
we may in our assembled wisdom think wise and best, of all things, 
and above all things, let us do nothing that shall impair the 
efficiency of that grand old regiment to which we have belonged, 
or that shall create the slightest unkind feeling in that regiment 
toward us; but let us show them that they have made a mistake 
through the authorized voice of their regiment, and let us bring to 
their attention, to their intelligence, to their friendship, and to their 
attachment, the duty that belongs to them to rectify and correct the 
wrong thai has been done- this veteran organization. (Cheers). 

I have belonged to the regiment ever since it had its name as the 
Seventh Regiment, and when it was the Twenty-seventh Regiment. 
1 joined nearly fifty years ago. I served my time and five years 
beyond, and (hiring the twelve years that I was in the active regi- 
ment I never missed a drill or a parade, but once, in the whole of 
that time. (Applause). 



33 

Sir, I have been honored by the regiment ; I have been one of 
its Officers ; I have been honored as Secretary of the Board of 
Officers, and I served under that venerable man, that noble soldier, 
Captain (Bvt. -Colonel) Shumway, who is with us to-night, brought 
out by the great and momentous question that stirs the heart of 
every member of this organization. Who can begin to estimate the 
value of the services this faithful old soldier has rendered to the 
Seventh Regiment ? To his services, in my judgment, to his mili- 
tary knowledge, to his military devotion to the regiment, we owe 
more than to any other man, the prestige, the esprit de corps, and 
the discipline that marks that regiment now as the first of its kind 
in this country. (Uproarious applause.) 

I followed him next in rank, and I had no higher ambition than-to 
occupy the place filled by him ; but his services were so valu- 
able to the regiment that they held him there, and he clung to 
it until age and infirmity made it necessary for him to abandon active 
service and join himself with us, as the proper place for him to remain 
in identification with the active regiment. And has it come to this ? 
Has it come to pass that men like him, who have grown gray in the 
service, who have rendered such valuable services to the regiment, 
are to be now set aside, humiliated, and disgraced? I trust not, Mr. 
Chairman. In my opinion, when any one member of this organiza- 
tion is assailed, the whole body is assailed. We all know that no 
man can enter this organization unless he is entitled to receive a 
proper discharge from the regiment, and is fit to take his seat side by 
side with the best of the land ; and there is a paragraph in the circu- 
lar which I think is an unwarranted reflection on this organization, 
and I am sure whoever penned it could not have estimated the 
character of the reflections contained in it. I refer to the part in the 
second section, which says : 

" Those who are charged by law with the maintenance of the 
" good name of any regiment should not be held responsible for the 
" conduct of those over whom they have no control ; but so long as 
" any uniformed battalion bears the name of a National Guard reg- 
" iment, such regiment will be held responsible by the public for 
" any want of discipline in such uniformed battalion, and for the un- 
" soldierly and ungentlemanly conduct of any of its members while in 
" uniform." (Laughter.) 



84 

Can it be possible, Veterans of the Seventh Regiment, that there is 
any man is this organization, in uniform or out of it, who would 
conduct himself in an unsoldierly and ungentlemanly manner that 
would bring disgrace upon the regiment from which he sprung ? 
(Cries of" No— no.") 

Now, Mr. Chairman, while it is proper that we should allude to 
these things, it should be done in a spirit of manliness and of fair 
dealing, not in a spirit of revenge or hatred, but simply to show to 
the intelligence of this community, as well as to the regiment itself, 
that whoever prepared that circular could not have been cognizant 
of its far-reaching effect, and of the aspersions and reflections that 
are contained in its phraseology. It certainly, gentlemen, could not 
have emanated from a member of the Seventh Regiment — (Cries of 
" Good.") 

And, Mr. Chairman, the Seventh Regiment has always been pro- 
verbial for its respect and maintenance of law and order. If we are 
violating the law, we will submit and abide the consequences, even 
if it deprives us of our very attractive uniform — an important element 
in preserving the prestige of the Seventh Regiment itself. 

We know very well, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, the fact that 
there is a uniformed body in the organization of our Veterans which 
has contributed in a very large degree to the growth and prosperity 
of the Seventh Regiment. 

We know that young men can come into the active regi- 
ment, and be part of it, and receive a share of the applause that 
the regiment is always entitled to by its conduct and discipline ; 
and by serving the State the required time, they can join this 
organization and will preserve their identity and association with 
the regiment, and if they desire, they can still have the oppor- 
tunity to parade in a uniform which is distinctive in itself, but which 
is known and characterized as the uniform of the Seventh Regiment 
Veteran Organization. We know how important this Veteran organ- 
ization has been to the public. We know how important it was dur- 
ing the time of the war. You know very well, gentlemen, for I see 
a great many of my old associates around me, that when I buckled 
the cartridge-box upon my son, a member of the Seventh Regiment 
and asked him if every cartridge had a bullet in it, and when I helped 
to put on his knapsack, and started him from the old armory down 



35 

to the Potomac, I said, " You go, and I will stay here and take your 
place." The Veterans and exempt members organized a regiment 
of nearly four hundred men. I had the honor to command the 
eighth company, and we drilled regularly — of course we were not 
familiar with the new drill, for the tactics had been changed from 
Scott to Upton, yet we went through the double quick and we took 
all the muskets that could be given to us, and, when the Seventh 
Regiment returned, covered with eclat and glory, we marched our 
Veterans of five hundred strong down Broadway to meet the boys 
when they came back, and I say to-day, and I say this hour to-night, 
and without fear of contradiction, that if the Governor of the State 
of New York, or the Mayor of the City of New York desired the 
services of the Veteran Organization of the Seventh Regiment, there 
is not a man but who would respond to the call. (Tremendous ap- 
plause.) Such is the pride of the organization. Such is the value 
of the organization, without a peer in the land ; without an organi- 
zation like it, composed of a body of men who know their duty, and 
are not afraid to perform it. (Cheers.) 

Mr. Jackson S. Schultz : 

Mr. Chairman and Fellow Members — I regard it as a very fortu- 
nate circumstance that so much time has intervened between the 
issuing of the address on behalf of the Colonel, and the present time, 
because we come up to the consideration of the subject calmly to- 
night. If we had been called earlier we might have expressed some 
excited feelings. We might have shown some emotion, but now we 
are all love and kindness. But before we disband this organization 
(laughter), and before we send our uniforms down to Chatham street 
in this city, I propose to review for a few short moments some of the 
considerations which I think ought to weigh in our minds, and that 
of the public. I remember very well when our regiment moved 
down to the front, and I remember the riot which succeeded their 
going away, and I remember with what uniform alacrity the exempt 
corps, or the exempt members of the regiment, as they were called, 
came to the armory to defend it. They had not very many muskets, 
not one serviceable; but they did not close the windows; they did 
not barricade the doors; they threw them all open, and exposed 
themselves with such arms as they could find, and told the mob to 



36 

come on. That was the conduct of the Seventh Regiment Veterans 
on that occasion, and those who were there will recall that that 
was the best policy we thought we could adopt. We saw the mob 
surging by, but they did not disturb the armory. Now, what fol- 
lowed ? That is of more importance. The regiment had gone to 
the front; they had left a large number of sick members behind; 
some were so engaged that they could not go ; they were gathered 
together in the armory; they made drill masters, and we com- 
menced recruiting for the regiment ; but I cannot now recall the 
number ; but it was one or two hundred that were enlisted by the 
approbation of the various companies, and these gentlemen were 
being drilled while their uniforms were being made up in the armory. 
Finally we heard that the regiment was in trouble; we did not 
know how they were situated for food and so forth; we went to 
work, and in sending down recruits sent them down- a steamer load 
of provisions, which was an act that we thought very serviceable. 
During that whole period there were not less than two or three 
hundred members of the veterans, all of the exempt corps, occupy- 
ing that drill-room and doing service, and, as I thought, with the en- 
tire approbation of the active regiment at the front. I have been 
vain enough and foolish enough all these years to think that we 
were doing a valuable thing, something that was appreciated, 
especially by the regiment, and never in all my life have I heard a 
suggestion from any gentleman who signed that pronunciamento 
that we were not doing a good thing. I was associated with the 
committee that built this armory. I believe I was chairman of it. 
(Applause.) I remember that they took good care to put an equal 
number of veterans on the committee. This armory was built. 
We associated with them on equal terms. There never was a sug- 
gestion that we were not serviceable, and not wanted. 

Now I want to call your attention to a fact which I have spoken 
of once before, and I regard it as the most important element in 
the whole case. I say that the State of New York and the United 
States can not afford to dispense with any military force which is 
volunteer, and which is inexpensive. It is possible that we may 
have war in the future with some foreign government. It is possi- 
ble that we may be called upon to organize and drill three or four 
hundred thousand men within a very short time, say within a few 



37 

weeks. Under such circumstances I venture to think there is not a 
gray hair here to-night that would not be serviceable. I remember, 
sir, in 1859, I happened to be in England when the volunteer 
service was just coming into vogue. They had some trouble with 
France, and were therefore getting into arms. They had plenty of 
arms but had no drill officers. A friend of mine in mercantile life 
introduced me to a gentleman representing one of the regiments, 
and he confessed that to be the difficulty. They did not want to 
go to the regular service for drill officers, and they were educating 
themselves, and it was with great difficulty that they could get offi- 
cers ; and I venture to say that if one, two, or three hundred drill 
officers are wanted they can be found right here. I say again the 
State of New York won't pass that bill, and the Governor won't 
sign it. (Cheers.) 

We can better afford to do without them, than they can afford to 
do without us. Those men at Albany and at Washington have too 
much sense to dispense with any service which is as effective as you 
have here to-night, and which has been tendered to them through 
all these years. There have been some allusions to the signers of 
that document. I know, that is to say, I believe, that Colonel 
Clark could not have had anything to do with it, and I will tell you 
why. When those gentlemen presented that address to him, he 
should have looked it over, and he should have said, " That does not 
apply to my veterans, it may to yours ; I do not know them ; they 
are young men, mine are not; look at them." That is addressed to 
boys : we are not boys. It goes on to speak of them in various re- 
lations which are not true, and the Colonel would recognize that at 
once, and say, " I would be very happy to sign it ; but as it does not 
apply to my veterans, of course I cannot sign it." He signed it 
without reading it. (Cheers, laughter, and applause.) I do not 
say it is so, but I say I believe it is so, because I have known Colo- 
nel Clark for twenty or thirty years. He has always been a con- 
sistent and logical man, and he certainly could not be either of 
those, if he signed that document. (Laughter.) 

I notice by the World newspaper, in an interview that was had, 
that we are told that the difficulty about this Veteran Corps, and 
especially speaking of us, is that we " elected officers who have 
plenty of money and put up good." That is not true. We all 



38 

know it. I do not think that General Shaler meant that, and I do 
not propose to hold him responsible for all that that interviewer said; 
but he did not talk as good sense and as truthfully as he talks with 
me. The trouble is, those parties have got themselves into a diffi- 
culty, and it is our bounden duty to help them out. (Applause.) 

Now let us be a little serious. The Colonel of our regiment has 
signed that document, under what circumstances I do not know. 
I do not believe, as I said before, under favorable circumstance ; 
but we have got to live with them, and they have got to live with 
us, and we won't let them go away from us, and we will hug them 
still ; but it is an unfortunate circumstance. We cannot, of course, 
associate with them, if the rank and file of the regiment sympathize 
with that address. If they should do it — I do not think they will ; 
I am told the Board of Officers do, or, rather, a majority of 
them ; it is unfortunate — our relations would not be so cordial as in 
the past ; but I do not want the rank and file to hold any public 
meeting, get up any excitement, or pass any resolutions, and take 
sides with the veterans or against the officers ; and whenever I see 
that going on I shall advise against it. The rank and file may pos- 
sibly stand by their officers. It is a military thing ; it has nothing 
to do with the regiment. The officers have made a mistake, one 
which they will regret all their lives; but let us not make a mis- 
take by getting the men, the rank and file, into a difficulty with 
their officers. (Applause.) 

When I meet a member of the regiment who wants to talk about 
this I will say : " Do not talk to me on that subject ; I will talk to 
your officers." Whenever we get the companies agitated about a 
matter of this kind they may go wrong and lead to dispute. When 
the time comes, if it becomes necessary to lay off our uniforms, al- 
though, unfortunately, I have a new one, I will lay it aside — I 
will send it down to Chatham street, and have it sold; but don't do 
anything that will injure the Seventh Regiment. (Cheers.) 

Mr. John H. Gardner : 

Mr. Chairman — I have been connected and associated with 
this regiment for over fifty years. In it I had two brothers, 
a brother-in-law, a son, and three nephews, and I assure you, 
gentlemen, that this outrageous insult that is now put upon the 



39 

Veteran Corps by Colonel Clark grieves me to the soul. That pas- 
sage that was read here by our friend a few moments ago with 
regard to the conduct of men in uniform, if it means anything, 
means that this Veteran Corps have been guilty of ungentlemanly 
and unsoldierly conduct in uniform, so as to bring disgrace upon the 
Seventh Regiment of this State. That is as plain as it can possibly 
be, or else it means nothing at all. Who is Colonel Clark that he 
should insult a respectable body of men like this ? Is it the same 
man that owes to you and other members of this regiment the very 
rank he holds in this regiment — does he not hold it by some of you 
votes ? Is it he that should insult us in this way ? Are there not 
in the ranks of this Veteran Corps men who are far superior to him ; 
whose standing in society, socially, intellectually, and in every other 
form, far his superior ? (Voices of disapproval, and a request from 
the Chair not to be personal. ) 

I am told not to be personal. Is it possible to look at this mani- 
festo issued by Colonel Clark, and not have a personal feeling 
toward him with regard to it ? Are there any here that feel less 
than I do on the subject ? I have read Major Gardner's communi- 
cation, in which he says that the signing of Colonel to that paper 
is ex-official, and therefore the title of Colonel has no significance, 
leaving him simply Emmons Clark as the man who issues that 
document, and I will talk about him. 

There is no better authority in the United States than Major 
Gardner on this subject. I do not wish to say anything that will 
excite the members of the Veteran Corps, but I feel this insult deeply; 
and, as I said before, there are many members of this corps who are 
more than his equal in any position in life that you may place them. 
Those of you who were on Broadway upon that memorable day 
when the regiment inarched down for the defense of Washington, 
and saw a piece of canvas stretched across Broadway on which was 
written " New York sends her jewels," had you looked in the faces 
of those men as they marched down, you would have seen in their 
countenances a determination to do or die for their country ; and if 
you look now on the faces before you, you will find, if you scan, 
them closely, very many of those same faces that you saw in the ranks 
that day. There may be a sprinkling of gray hair, but they are the 
same faces, and are as ready to go to-day to the defense of their 



40 

country as they were on that memorable day. New York never 
saw such a clay as that, such excitement as there was, and God 
grant we shall never see it again. Many and many a pillow was wet 
that night by the tears of mother, wife, and sister, and yet this gen- 
tleman whose name I am not permitted to use, dares to issue a 
manifesto and say that these gentlemen have been guilty of conduct 
unbecoming a soldier and unbecoming a gentleman while in uni- 
form. While I say this with regard to them, I will say a few words 
with regard to the active regiment. The active regiment is com- 
posed of some of the best young men in the City of New York, from 
the best families, and many, very many of these are the sons, 
grandsons, and nephews of members of this corps. Sir, they are an 
honor to the corps to which they belong, but they did not make the 
Seventh Regiment what it is. It was the members of this Veteran 
Corps that did that. These young men are sustaining it, and no 
doubt they will continue to do so ; but, sir, they did not make it 
what it is. It was you and others here who have made its reputa- 
tion. Fifty years ago, when I was a member of the regiment, the 
active regiment, the Twenty-seventh Regiment of that day, was the 
pride of the City and State of New York, and it has retained its 
reputation ever since. 

With this feeling with regard to the insult that has been put upon 
us I would not have members of the Veteran Corps turn their backs 
on this regiment. I say " No ! stick to it with your might ! Stick 
to the old flag!" The rash man who has made this charge will in a 
short time have passed away and will be thought of no more, while 
the old flag will float to the wind for years and years to come, and I 
trust by our continued help. (Cheers.) 

Mr. Bloomfield Brower offered the following as an additional 
resolution : 

MR. RROWER'S AMENDMENT. 

That, if considered advisable by a majority of the Board of Man- 
agement, we authorize them to forward to the Governor of this 
State, a copy of the Circular issued by Generals and Colonels of the 
First and Second Division N. G. S. N. Y., together with such state- 
ment as may be made, asking for official action. 

After a short discussion, Mr. Brower temporarily withdrew the 



41 

resolution, which he subsequently presented, and it was referred to the 
committee appointed under the resolution of General Roome. 

Mr. Bloomfield Brower : 

Mr. Chairman — I came here to-night as a member of the Veteran 
Association and to repel any of these attacks that have been made 
upon us. I regard this circular as an attack on the whole Associa- 
tion, not upon the Uniformed Corps alone. (Applause.) 

I have known Colonel Clark for over twenty-five years. I was 
brought up in the same company, and he periodically puts his foot 
into it, and this is one of the times. 

If the Colonel wants to attack this Association, let him come in 
here and do it. He had abundant opportunity two years ago, 
when I offered an amendment to the by-laws. Why should we 
handle him with gloves ? He is not the regiment ; that is the mis- 
take. He is not the regiment. 

Now on that night he had a chance to, but did not even second 
my amendment. It received my vote only when I knew there 
were twenty men at least present who were in favor of it, but they 
had not the moral courage. I have not changed front. 1 think 
the tail has been wagging the dog too long, and that is the trouble 
with the Uniformed Association. But we can settle it right here in- 
side of the Association. We need not go to the papers. We need not 
be ungentlemanly, or unofficerlike, as Colonel Clark and his associates 
in that circular have been. If we could try him to-day without 
prejudice — and we are not fitted for it as we stand — I would draw 
charges against him and every member of the Veteran Association 
who signed that circular. We have our remedy : to go to Albany 
to the Governor. He, Colonel Clark, has been guilty of unofficer- 
like conduct in putting that circular before the public as he has 
done. The Governor is the one who should judge this thing. He is 
their superior. It is extra official — or whatever you may call it. 
They had no right to issue such a document. There is where it 
should go, and that is the reason I offered that amendment. 



42 

Commissary Edward Kemp offered the following as a substitute 
for the preamble and resolution presented by General Roome : 

Whereas, The Division, Brigade, and Regimental Command- 
ers of the First and Second Divisions, N. G. S. N. Y., have deemed 
it expedient to sign and issue a Circular condemning the practice 
adopted by " Uniformed Battalions of Veterans of the National 
Guard," of " wearing uniforms and designations of grade similar to 
those in use by the National Guard issued under the provisions of the 
Military Code " ; 

And whereas, We, " The Veterans of the Seventh Regiment," 
believe that it never was the intent of " the Uniformed Battalion 
of the Veterans of the Seventh Regiment, N. G. S. N. Y.," to do or 
suffer to be done anything detrimental to the Seventh Regiment, or 
in violation of law. 

And whereas, It is evident that serious differences of opinion exist as 
to certain questions, which in the interests of harmony should be 
settled and forever put at rest by the highest authority of the State ; 

Therefore, be it resolved, That a Committee of fifteen members of 
this Association be appointed to ascertain and report — 

i. Whether any proceedings have ever been taken or sanctioned 
by this Association exceeding or violating its chartered privileges or 
powers. 

2. Whether the uniform and designation of grade adopted by " The 
Uniformed Battalion of the Veterans of the Seventh Regiment, N. 
G. S. N. Y.," are within the meaning of Sections 59 of the Military 
Code of the State of New York " similar to those in use by the 
National Guard issued under the provisions of the Military Code." 

3. Whether the said " Uniformed Battalion " is a lawfully con- 
stituted organization. 

And be it further resolved, That, as to the several questions 
already suggested, or which in the course of investigation may arise, 
the said Committee be authorized and empowered to request and 
obtain the opinions of the Attorney-General and Adjutant-General 
of the State of New York. 



43 

Colonel John Fowler, Jr., spoke as follows : 

Mr. Chairman : — The right of the Veterans of the Seventh Regi- 
ment to wear uniforms and designations of grade similar to those in 
use by the National Guard has been challenged. 

A protest has been issued by a large number of gentlemen, so 
respectable in personal character, and so high in military rank, that 
we cannot afford to ignore them. A paper signed by the Division, 
Brigade, and Regimental Commanders of the First and Second Divis- 
ions, deserves and should meet our respectful attention, especially 
when that paper openly denies a right that several hundred mem- 
bers of our Association have assumed, in good faith, no doubt, to 
exercise. 

It seems to me that the report of the committee fails to touch the 
main question we have been convened to consider, namely, the 
right to wear uniforms and designations of grade. 

(Cries of "Oh! oh!" "Sit down, Colonel, you're on the wrong 
side"; 

I am here by no man's courtesy. I am here because I am a 
Veteran of the Seventh Regiment ! 

(Applause, and cries of " Go on," mingled with cries of " Out of 
order.") 

The association known as the " Veterans of the National Guard " 
was chartered by the Legislature in 1861 as a benevolent corpora- 
tion. Its name was subsequently changed to the " Veterans of the 
Seventh Regiment." The charter makes no reference to military 
purposes. It contains nothing whatever to warrant the formation 
of even a quasi-military body. 

All arguments that have thus far been put forth in support of the 
right to maintain a uniformed battalion, proceed upon the mistaken 
idea that the Charter creates a military corporation. 

• Upon this assumption, it is further urged that our Association 
being within the spirit, if not within the letter of the Charter, a " Mili- 
tary Organization," as defined by Section 75 of the Military Code, is 
exempt from the penalties prescribed by Section 59 of the Code. 

I desire to discuss the questions thus raised, and if I cannot win 
your applause, I hope, at least, to receive your kind attention. (Cries 
of "Out of order.") 



44 

Let us approach the subject calmly, and reason together with 
moderation. The legal right of the Veterans to wear uniforms and 
designations of grade similar to those in use by the National Guard, 
is a question that has been raised. It is squarely before us to-night ; 
it is a question that sooner or later must be met, and we may as 
well meet it now. The question is one, not of sentiment, to be 
argued with warmth ; but a cold-blooded question of corporation 
law. The technicalities of military law have nothing to do with the 
subject. 

A corporation being a mere creature of the statute can exercise no 
other powers than those which the statute creating it confers. Now 
let us see what are the objects to promote which our Charter was 
granted. Those objects are distinctly enumerated ; they all point 
to the purposes of benevolence, and to nothing else. There is nothing 
whatever in the original Charter, nor in any amendment thereof, that 
indicates in the slightest degree a legislative intent to constitute 
"The Veterans of the Seventh Regiment" a military organization. 
This proposition being once established, it will not be difficult to 
show that the members of the Uniformed Battalion are at this mo- 
ment subject to the penalties prescribed by Section 59 of the Military 
Code. (Cries of " Order! Order! Out of order.") 

[The chairman here called Col. Fowler to order on the ground 
that the opinion of Colonel Gardner and Mr. Janeway, in support 
of the right claimed by the Uniformed Battalion, was not before 
the Association for discussion.] Col. Fowler then said : 

So far as the feelings of this assemblage are concerned, I certainly 
appear to be, as some gentlemen have already said, " on the wrong 
side." I do not think I am " on the wrong side " ; but I shall pursue 
my line of argument no further. You do not wish to hear me. 

Allow me to say, however, that come what will, there must be no 
break in the chain of that warm friendship which for so many years 
has bound the regiment and its veterans together. (Loud applause.) 
The two organizations animated, as I sincerely hope they will be 
in the future, as they have been in the past, by a common purpose, 
should continue to move forward on parallel lines toward a common 
object : the regiment seeking by all honorable means to maintain the 
splendid reputation it has labored so many years to achieve, and we, 
the Veterans, striving in all lawful ways to increase the usefulness, to 



45 

promote the prosperity, and to advance the fame of the regiment. 
(Loud applause.) 

A vote was then taken on Commissary Edward Kemp's substitute 
and it was declared lost, having received but few affirmative votes. 

The question was then put upon the preamble and 
resolutions offered by Gen. Roome, and they were 
adopted without a dissenting voice. 

Captain Edward G. Arthur then read the Supplementary Report of 
the Committee of the Board of Management hereinbefore printed 
(p. 24). 

Captain John C. Giffing said: 

In the course of the duties devolving upon the Committee, some 
letters and official communications, came to their notice which 
should be read this evening, that members may be informed of 
the position that we occupy in the premises. 

The Secretary then read the following letters : 

Headquarters Seventh Regiment, } 

National Guard, S. N. Y., > 

New York, May 6th, 1876. ) 

Gen. Marshall Lefferts, 

Commanding Veterans of National Guard: 

General — This regiment has decided to encamp at Philadel- 
phia in July next, and will leave New York on Saturday, the first 
day of that month, for that purpose; understanding that the Veteran 
Association will visit Philadelphia on Monday, July 3d, I beg leave 
to tender the services of this regiment as an escort to your command 
on its arrival in Philadelphia, and to assure you that it will afford 
great pleasure to the officers and members of this regiment to meet 
. their comrades as proposed. Hoping that it will be convenient and 
agreeable to you to honor this regiment by accepting it as your 
escort, 

I remain, with great respect, 

Yours truly, 

Emmons Clark, 
Col. Commanding Seventh Regiment JV. G. S. N. Y. 



46 

New York, May 22, 1876. 
Col. Emmons Clark, 

Comma //ding Seventh Regiment, N. G. S. N. Y : 

My Dear Colonel — It is with more than ordinary pleasure that 
I acknowledge receipt of your communication of the 6th instant, 
offering an escort to the Veterans of the Seventh Regiment, upon 
their arrival in Philadelphia on the 3d July. 

A courtesy like this comes with pleasant grace from the active men 
of the regiment, to those who have graduated honorably from its 
ranks, (many of them fathers of those doing active duty,) and those 
gray with years, who still look with pride and solicitude upon the 
" tramp of the boys," in whose keeping now lies the future of the 
corps. 

I will at an early day acquaint you with the proposed movement 
of the Veterans as to time of departure from the city, etc., etc., and 
am, 

My dear Colonel, 

Yours truly, 

Marshall Lefferts, 

Colonel Commanding Veterans Seventh Regiment, N. G. S. N. Y. 



Headquarters Seventh Regiment, } 

National Guard, S. N. Y., > 

New York, June 15, 1876. ) 

My dear Sir — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of 
yours of 13th instant, and desire to express the pleasure which it will 
afford the officers and members of this regiment, to be informed that 
the Veterans have been assigned a place in line in immediate con- 
nection with this regiment, at the 4th of July parade in Philadelphia. 
Hoping that the excursion will bring pleasure and honor to both 
organizations, and will cement the bonds of union and friendship 
which must ever exist between them, 

I remain, with great respect, 

Yours truly, 

Emmons Clark, 
To C. B. Bostwick, Colonel Commanding Seventh Regiment, 

. idjutant, V. JV. G. N. G. S. N. Y. 



47 

Headquarters Seventh Regiment, } 

National Guard, S. N. Y., > 

New York, July 24, 1877. 6 p.m. ) 

My dear General — Yours this date is received, and I take the 
earliest opportunity to reply. We do not think that the Regiment will 
be ordered to leave New York City, for obvious reasons. But in case 
it should, we would be most happy to place our armory in charge 
of the Veterans, and know that it would in that case be amply and 
ably protected. Or in case the Regiment should be called for active 
duty in any part of the city, we should be glad to leave the armory 
in charge of the Veterans, as you suggest. In case the assistance of 
the Veterans should be needed as above, or in any other particular, 
I will hasten to communicate with Colonel Pond or yourself, or 
both. I have not heard from Colonel Pond on account of his 
absence from the City. 

With great respect, 

Yours truly, 
Gen. J. H. Liet.enau, Emmons Clark, 

Lieut.- Col. Veteran Corps. Commanding Seventh Regiment. 



Headquarters Seventh Regiment, } 

National Guard, S. N. Y., > 

New York, July 25, 1877. ) 

General — As it is possible that this Regiment may be on active 
duty to-night, I think it would be well to have as many of the 
Veterans at the armory at 8 p.m. as possible. Should you agree 
with me, I think they should be privately notified, and that no pub- 
licity should be given to the matter in the papers or by any bulletin. 
If they will come to the armory in citizen's dress, with fatigue cap 
in pocket, to be worn as a badge of distinction in armory, no pub- 
licity will be possible. Everything to avoid exciting the public 
mind is at present advisable. 

Yours truly, 

Emmons Clark. 
To Gen. Liebenau. 



48 

Headquarters Seventh Regiment, } 

National Guard S. N. Y., > 

New York, Aug. 10, 1877. ) 

Colonel — I desire to express to you the thanks of the officers 
and members of this regiment for the prompt tender of aid and 
assistance from the Veteran Association on the 24th day of July, 
and especially to acknowledge the welcome presence of many offi- 
cers and members of your organization at the armory during the 
evening of Wednesday, July 25th, at which time it was expected 
that the regiment would be ordered from the armory to protect the 
public peace. 

It is a source of pleasure, pride, and confidence to the officers and 
members of the regiment to know that on all occasions there is a 
large and well-organized corps of veteran members ready and will- 
ing to give their active and effective support if required. 

The following is an extract from my official report to Brigade 
Headquarters, dated August 6, 1877: 

"The commandant also gratefully notices the offer of assistance 
" from the Veteran Association of his Regiment. On Wednesday 
" evening a large number of the Veteran Corps under Lieut.-Colonel 
" J. H. Liebenau, reported at the armory to guard the premises in 
" case the regiment was called to any other section of the city, and 
" to perform any other service that might be required." 
With great respect, 

Yours truly, 

Emmons Clark, 
Col. Commanding Seventh Rcgt., N. G. S. N. Y. 
To Colonel W. A. Pond, 

Command///!'' Veterans National Guard. 



Headquarters Seventh Regiment, ^ 

National Guard, S. N. Y., > 

New York, Feb. 9, 1880. ) 

I write to invite the Veterans of the Seventh Regiment to pa- 
rade as a part of the escort on the day of removal from the old 
armory to the new. The Sixty-ninth and Seventy-first Regiments 
have already tendered their services as escort to the Regiment. It 



49 

may be that other Regiments will also desire to manifest in the same 
way their kindly interest in the fortunes of our corps. But what- 
ever the number of organizations may contribute to the magnitude 
of the parade, the Veterans of the Seventh will have a place in the 
column which you may consider most desirable, appropriate, and 
honorable. 

Hoping that you, and those you represent, will find it convenient 
and agreeable to parade with the Regiment in April next, on the 
occasion above referred to, I remain, 

With great respect, 

Yours truly, 

Emmons Clark, 
Col. Commanding Seventh Regiment. 
To Colonel W. A. Pond, 

Commanding Veterans Seventh Regiment. 



Headquarters Seventh Regiment, > 

National Guard, S. N. Y., > 

New York, May 8, 1880. \ 

My dear Colonel — I hand you herewith your letter referred 
to me by Rader, with indorsement. I am sure you will greatly 
oblige Major Smith and the members of Board of Officers Commit- 
tee if you make Edward Kemp Chairman of- the Veteran 
Committee and support him with such live men as Winchester, 
Montanye, John Kemp, Edward G. Arthur, James Ray, 10th Co., 
etc., etc. The Fair taught us who were working and business men, 
and who are sure to make anything successful that they are 
interested in. Very truly, your friend. 

Emmons Clark. 
Colonel Pond. 



May 8th, 1880. 

My dear Colonel — It was not expected that the Committee 

would necessarily consist of one Field, one Staff, and one Officer from 

each company. Simply that the number of committee of Veteran 

Officers should be twelve; same number as Board of Officers Com- 

4 






50 

mittee. It would probably make plainer sailing if Major Smith is 
the only field officer on the committee, except yourself and myself 
ex-officio. I think that it will be well to have an Auxiliary Committee 
of five from each Veteran company, and that probably was the in- 
tention of the writer of the resolution. 

Yours truly, 

Emmons Clark. 
Colonel Pond. 



Headquarters Seventh Regiment, } 

National Guard, S. N. Y., > 

New York, June 17, 1881. ) 

Colonel E. M. Crawford, 

Commanding Veterans Seventh Regiment : 
Dear Colonel — I consent to the Band wearing the uniform be- 
longing to the Regiment on the 23d inst., and to the use of one of 
the squad drill-rooms by the Adjutant of the Veterans for the instruc- 
tion of non-commissioned staff and sergeants. Mr. Wernig, band- 
master, and Mr. Edwards, superintendent, will attend to this upon 
presentation of this communication. 

Yours hastily, 

Emmons Clark, 
Col. Seventh Regiment. 



Headquarters Seventh Regiment, } 
National Guard, S. N. Y., > 
New York, Oct. 15, 1881. ) 
Colonel E. M. Crawford, 

Commanding Veterans Seventh Regiment: 

Colonel — I have the honor to invite the field and staff of the 
Veterans Seventh Regiment to meet Governor Long, of Massa- 
chusetts, and the Officers of the First Corps of Cadets, at the Board 
of Officers' Room, Armory, on Friday, October 21st, at 5 o'clock 

P.M. 

Very respectfully, 

Emmons Clark, 

Colonel Commanding. 



51 

New York, Oct. 19, 1881. 
Dear Colonel — General Shaler and Staff will come on Friday^ 
uniform. I thought you would like to know this, as it may influence 
the action of Veteran Field and Staff. 

Yours truly, 

Emmons Clark. 
Colonel Crawford. 

Headquarters Seventh Regiment, } 
National Guard, S. N. Y., > 
New York, Oct. 14, 1882. ) 
Colonel E. M. Crawford: 

Dear Colonel — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of 
yours 13th instant, and take great pleasure in granting permission 
(as requested) to use the large drill-room at armory for assembling 
and forming of Veterans of Seventh Regiment, Thursday p.m., 19th 
instant. 

With great respect, 

Yours truly, 

Emmons Clark, 
Commanding Seventh Regiment, N. G. S. N. Y 



Headquarters Seventh Regiment, } 

National Guard, S. N. Y., > 

New York, June 10, 1883. ) 

Dear Colonel — I am in receipt of invitation to be present at a 
Clam Bake at Rocky Point on 18th inst., and would be very happy 
to meet the Veterans of the Seventh Regiment on that pleasant oc- 
casion, but my engagements are of a character so exacting that it 
will be impossible for me to accept your polite invitation, which I 
greatly regret. 

• Hoping that all who participate in the proposed festivities will 
fully realize the pleasure anticipated, I am, with great regard, 

Yours truly, 

Emmons Clark, 
Col. L. W. Winchester, Colonel. 

Veterans Seventh Regiment, 

New York City. 



52 

Upon ihe conclusion of the reading by the Adjutant of these 
communications, 

Bvt. -Major George P. Edgar said : 

Mr. Chairman — I want to say to this Association of which Colonel 
Clark is a member, and once served as a Major, that in the last few 
days we were quite agitated, and are now getting over it. Colonel 
Clark, in his circular and we call it that — says kind words to the 
war veterans, and hopes that the Uniformed Battalion of our Associa- 
tion will not longer exist, because it adds insult continually to those 
who earned honors in the field. That is very pretty. Colonel Clark 
uttered those sentiments personally in my hearing, and he has put 
them on record. I wish simply to say that Colonel Clark, as Colonel 
of the Seventh Regiment, has not, to my knowledge, ever invited 
any of the veterans who earned those honors, to parade at any time 
with the Seventh Regiment. Never once since 1865, when most of 
us came home. There was, one time in the Academy of Music, 
quite a compliment given to the young men who went to the front. 
I will say this — that the present Colonel of the Veterans did honor 
the war veterans in this Association by inviting them to parade with 
his Staff on Centennial Evacuation Day. I deem it but fair that the 
record should be made; there is one item that the gentlemen of the 
Board of Managers have overlooked; they have not all the 
record; Colonel Clark, on November nth, 1878, in an appeal to 
the people of New York, said several very kind things when he asked 
them for $100,000 more to finish this armory. He then said, "Sub- 
scriptions may be forwarded to either of the Trustees of the Fund, 
Royal Phelps, J. Lenox Kennedy, W. Astor, R. M. Weed, or John 
J. McLaren, Paymaster of the Veterans, 17 William Street." 

Mr. William H. Farnum : 

Mr. Chairman — I have not heard a single word said in praise 
of Colonel Clark. I propose, if no one else will do it, to 
add my mite of praise to-night. I admit, in this manifesto, and for 
the purposes of this argument, that there are some phrases 

Mr. Brower : I call the gentleman to order. 

The Chair decided the point of order well taken. 



5'S 

Capt. Giffing : I move that the privilege of the floor be ac- 
corded Mr. Farnum. 

Seconded and adopted with but few dissenting voices. 

Mr. Farnum : I prefer to have it go on record, that the only 
gentleman who stood up here to speak fox Colonel Clark was cut 
off. 



The Chair then appointed the following Committee under the 
resolutions of Bvt. Brig.-Gen. Roome, viz. : 

Bvt. Brig.-Gen. Charles Roome. 
Honorable William A. Darling. 
Mr. Jackson S. Schultz. 
Colonel William A. Pond. 
Mr. William H. Montanye. 
Quartermaster Henry H. Holly. 

Mr. William R. Macdiarmid: 

Mr. Chairman — As the gentleman declines to proceed with his 
remarks, and as we have made out our case, and the other side 
has put forward no argument to sustain themselves, I move that 
we do now adjourn. 

The motion was put and declared carried. 



54 

The following communication from Judge Advocate Asa Bird 
Gardner, LL.D., U. S. Army, of the Division of the Atlantic, con- 
tains interesting facts concerning the " Veterans of the Seventh 
Regiment, N. G. S. N. Y.," as an independent military organization, 
which it is believed will be appreciated by all concerned : 

[Personal.] Judge Advocate's Office, i 

Governor's Island, New York City, > 

March 4, 1884. ) 

Colonel Locke W. Winchester, 

Commanding Veterans of the Seventh Regiment, N. G. S. N. Y. .- 

My Dear Colonel : I return herewith the copy of the bill 
introduced into the Assembly to amend the Military Code of the 
State. 

The section which you had marked proposes as the sole amend- 
ment to the present Section 75, to declare it unlawful, and to make 
it " a misdemeanor for any body of men whatsoever, other than the 
" regular organized corps of the National Guard and Militia, and 
" the troops of the U. S., except such independent military organiza- 
" tions as are now in existence, * * * to assume to use any 
" title or titles representing military rank or grade." 

This penal clause is broad enough to include, if so desired, those 
highly respectable organizations known as the " Grand Army of the 
Republic" and " Boys in Blue," in which certain military titles are 
used, and the " New York Commandery of the Loyal Legion of the 
U. S.," in which membership is dependent upon honorable service 
in the War of the Rebellion. It would also legislate directly against 
those who were officers of Volunteers in that war, and honorably 
mustered out of U. S. service, and who, by Section 1,226 of the 
Revised Statutes of the United States, are " entitled to bear the offi- 
" cial title, and upon occasions of ceremony to wear the uniform of 
" the highest grade they have held by brevet or other commissions 
" in the Volunteer Service." 

For these and other obvious reasons the proposed amendment 
ought to be opposed and will certainly fail of enactment, 

Neither the present Military Code, or the proposed amendment, 
affects in any way whatever the status of that honorable body of 



55 

which you are the Commandant, because the u Veterans of the 
" Seventh Regiment, N. G. S. N. Y.," Chartered by the Legislature 
by that name, and being " an independent military organization — 
although not " regularly organized as an organization of the Na- 
tional Guard"— are specially excepted in the section as now exist- 
ing from all of its penal prohibitions, and you may wear such uni- 
forms as you please, and the designations of grades of office 
recognized in your acts of incorporation, and parade when you 
please, unless such parades should be appointed for days when the 
National Guard are forbidden to parade. 

You are, however, made subject, by the present Military Code, 
"to the orders of the Commander-in-Chief in case of emergency or 
" necessity, to aid the National Guard in quelling invasion, insurrec- 
u tion, riot, or breach of the peace," a duty you have already on 
several occasions performed under arms most satisfactorily to 
the community. 

I saw, with regret, in the daily papers of February 19th an extra- 
official statement, signed by several commanding officers in the 
National Guard, reflecting upon the legal designation and uniform 
of your independent military organization. 

If the Governor, as Commander-in-Chief of the State, had called 
upon those gentlemen for their official opinions on a military ques- 
tion in their collective capacity, such concerted action and use of 
military titles to their signatures would have been appropriate. 

In the absence of such requirement, or of any law or general 
regulation authorizing it, such action, collectively or individually, 
was extra official, and no more an incident of their official station 
than this personal letter of mine to you. 

The commentary is all the more pointed when it is considered 
that complaint is therein made of the alleged misuse of military 
titles by others, and also of the use by your organization of the 
name given to it by the Legislature, nearly a quarter of a century 
ago. 

Some of the gentlemen whose names were attached to that docu- 
ment were undoubtedly misinformed, and I am glad to see that 
several have already either withdrawn them or contemplate doing so. 

Citizens of New York, who, like myself, know how your organiza- 
tion came into existence as a part of the Reserve Militia, and what its 



56 

members have done for the Nation and State, and for the splendid 
Regiment fromt.which they have, as it were, graduated, cannot but 
feel that great injustice has been done your command. 

Mr. William Swinton, the historian, in his history of the Seventh 
Regiment, N. G. S. N. Y. (edition 1870), says: "The 9th of May, 
" 1859, is an historic day in the annals of that Regiment, because it 
" was then, that the famous Association of the exempt members of 
" the Seventh Regiment was organized, called the ' Veterans of the 
*! National Guard.' " 

You know that from the outset, the organization was essentially 
military and regimental, and instituted on that basis, each company 
containing those who had formerly served in the like company of the 
active regiment. 

When civil war seemed imminent, the organization sought legisla- 
tive recognition, and was duly incorporated March nth, 1861, as 
" The Veterans of the National Guard, Seventh Regiment, 1st Divis- 
ion, New York State Militia," a title changed by the Legislature in 
1878, to that of " The Veterans of the Seventh Regiment, N. G. S. 
N. Y." 

I have been informed by Charter members that the object of 
Legislative recognition was to make the organization more efficient 
for military purposes in the emergency then arising, as otherwise they 
would have incorporated under the general law, or continued a vol 
untary military association as before. 

One of the objects specified in the Act of 186 1, for your incor- 
poration, was " to preserve and continue the recollections of 
service in the National Guard," and I recall, that the veterans 
proceeded immediately to do so by forming a Uniformed Battalion, 
for such military service as might be necessary, of all such exempt 
and honorably discharged members as chose to uniform themselves. 

As the titles of the officers of the organization were strictly mili- 
tary, and of a regimental character, the Legislature recognized their 
use for such purpose, when it declared in the Act that those officers 
should hold their respective offices until others were chosen in their 
stead. 

Again, by the Act of April 19, 1882, in which the Legislature 
proceeded to authorize the creation of a " Benevolent Fund of the 
Veterans of the Seventh Regiment, N. G.S.N. Y." it enacted that 



57 

such " fund shall be administered by officers of said Association , who 
" shall be the Colonel, Paymaster, and Chaplain of said Association, as 
" Trustees.' 1 '' 

This was a distinctive Legislative recognition for the second time, 
of the titular military officers of a regimental character in your 
organization, and of the succession therein ; and, until the Legis- 
lature shall, by special act amend this law, you, and Paymaster 
Edward A. Kingsland, and Chaplain, the Rev. J. Tuttle Smith, 
D.D., and your successors in office, can only administer this fund 
by these special legal titles. 

In looking over your Act of Incorporation of 1861, I find among 
the incorporators such honored citizens as John M. Catlin, long 
Colonel of the active regiment and the first Colonel of the Veterans; 
Linus W. Stevens, who succeeded him in April, 1 861, in Command 
of the Veterans ; Morgan L. Smith, Washington R. Vermilye, An- 
drew A. Bremner, and Brigadier and Brevet Major-General Abram 
Duryee, late U. S. Vols., each of whom had been Colonels of the 
active regiment. 

Also Brevet Bng.-General Charles Roome, late U. S. Vols., who 
was in 1861 Captain of one of the Veteran Companies and previ- 
ously Captain in the active regiment ; Philetus H. Holt, David T. 
Valentine, and Adjutant Asher Taylor, of the Veteran organization, 
who was the first man, when in the active regiment, to wear its 
present gray uniform. 

Another incorporator was the lamented Marshal Lefferts, who was 
Colonel of the active regiment from 1 859-1 864, and afterward 
Colonel of the Veteran Organization, and who died in its uniform 
when accompanying it to Philadelphia in 1876. 

Surely these well-known citizens must have known the objects of 
their organization. 

. Mr. Swinton has graphically described how, when the Seventh 
Regiment was about to proceed, in April, 1 861, to the defense of the 
Capitol, the Veterans assembled by order of their Colonel, Linus W. 
Stevens; and Colonel Lefferts formally turned over to his organ- 
ization, the protection of the armory. 

On April 27, 1861, four hundred and twenty-nine members 
were enrolled in the Veteran Organization, and on April 30, 1861, 
Colonel Stevens officially reported his command for duty to the late 



58 

Major-General Charles Sandford, then Commanding the First Di- 
vision, New York State Militia, and they were armed and equipped 
by the State, with such arms and accouterments as it had at its dis- 
posal. 

During your absence as a Commissioned Officer with the active 
regiment, I witnessed a drill by Colonel Stevens, in May, 1861, of 
the Uniformed Battalion of the Veteran organization in the old 
armory, at which between three and four hundred paraded under 
arms, uniformed in gray shell jackets, gray fatigue caps, and black 
trousers. 

They subsequently formally escorted the active regiment on its 
return from Virginia. 

The uniform was certainly not an appropriate one for gentlemen 
of mature years, but it will be difficult to perceive what can be 
found fault with, in their present neat and serviceable dress of dark 
blue, which no one can mistake for the gray of the active regiment, 
and which was adopted in 1874, largely through the efforts of 
Colonel Lefferts. 

It is true, an effort has been made in the extra-official statement to 
bring into disrepute the uniform of the Veteran Organization, 
although the Military Code is particularly careful by its excepting 
clauses, not to infringe upon or prohibit it from wearing whatever 
uniform it may desire. 

You may console yourself, however, my dear Colonel, by the re- 
flection that the services of your Organization in 1861, in the 
draft riots of 1863, and railroad riots of 1877, have not been for- 
gotten. 

From April, i86r, to the present time your command has con- 
tinued to preserve and maintain its distinctive military character as 
an independent military organization in the Reserve Militia, and to 
parade in uniform, armed and equipped as by law provided, when 
public emergency required it, and, on other occasions, merely with 
side-arms, the latest of such parades having been on the official occa- 
sion of the Centennial Celebration in the City of New York, on 
November 26, 1883, of its evacuation by the British forces in 1783. 

The advantage to the State of having ready, at the Commander- 
in-Chief's call, a corps of citizens uniformed and organized, who 
have by faithful voluntary military service to the State for a term of 



59 

years acquired exemption from ordinary military duty, is apparent, 
and the present Military Code distinctly recognizes this fact as to 
those organizations in existence at its adoption. 

The objection that members of the active regiment prefer, on 
termination of their term of service, to take their honorable discharge 
and join the Veteran Corps, and that the efficiency of the active 
regiment is thereby impaired, can have no foundation, when it is 
considered, as I am credibly informed, that most of the companies 
of the active regiment are at a maximum. 

I think the gentlemen of your organization ought not to be dis- 
turbed at the indirect attack made upon it, because it stands in so 
different a position from purely voluntary associations unrecognized 
by law, and which have never had a distinctive military character. 

As a conservator of the peace your command has shown its advan- 
tage for twenty-three years, and any effort to withdraw the respect 
of the members of the active regiment for its Veteran Organization 
ought to meet with discouragement. 

I am, my dear Colonel, very truly yours, 

Asa Bird Gardner. 



CONCLUDING REMARKS. 

In the new Military Code of the State of New York, enacted by 
the Legislature April 23, 1883 {Chapter 299), and entitled "An 
Act to provide for the enrollment of the Militia, for the organization 
and government of the National Guard of the State of New York, 
and for the public defense? appears certain portions of sections which 
may be considered as new legislation relative to Jut lire organizations 
or associations of a military character. 

As they are alluded to by Colonel Emmons Clark in his foregoing 
circular, dated February 26, 1884, and given by him a construction 
entirely opposed to their context and clear Legislative intent, they 
are reprinted in order to show that the Veterans of the Seventh 
Regiment N. G. S. N. Y. are directly excepted from their operation, 
and in no way limited thereby or deprived of any pre-existing right, 
privilege, or immunity. 



60 

[Extracts from the Military Code.) 
" Section 59. * * * Any person not a member of the National 
" Guard {the organizations included in section seventy-five of this act ex- 
" cepted),who shall wear any uniform or designation of grade similar to 
" those in use by the National Guard, issued* under the provisions 
" of the Military Code, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, 
" and shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not 
*.' less than one, nor more than two, months, or by a fine of not more 
" than one hundred, nor less than fifty, dollars. * * * 

" Section 75. — It shall not be lawful, but it shall be a misde- 
" meanor, for any body of men whatsoever, other than the regular 
" organized corps of the National Guard and Militia and the troops 
" of the United States, except such independent military organizations 
" as are now in existence, t to associate themselves together as a 
" military company or organization, or to parade in public with fire- 
" arms in any city or town of this State; * * * provided, 
" that associations wholly composed of soldiers honorably discharged 
" from the service of the United States may parade in public with 
" fire-arms on Decoration Day, or upon the reception of any regi- 
" ments or companies of soldiers returning from said service, and for 
" the purpose ol escort duty at the burial of deceased soldiers ; 
" * * * and provided further, that this section shall not be 
" construed to prevent any organization, authorized to do so by law, 
" from parading with fire-arms. 

* The only uniforms or designations of grade which can be issued under the provisions of the 
Military Code are those prescribed for enlisted men. such designations of grade being indicated by 
chevrons, common to all the Militia of the Union. Commissioned officers are required by the Code 
to provide their own uniforms and designations of rank (Sec. 51, 52). None are issued to them. 

t When this section was submitted to the Legislature in 1883 for adoption, it undertook to 
except from its penal provisions and prohibitions, and from those of Section 59, the troops of the 
United States and National Guard, and only " such independent military organizations as are 
now in existence by law." The Legislature deliberately struck out the words "by law),"" before 
enacting it, so that not only all independent military organizations then in existence (April 23, 
1883) by law under legislative acts, like the Veterans of the Seventh Regiment, or Twenty-second 
Regiment, or Old Guard, of the Reserve Militia, or the Albany liurgess Corps or Utica Citizens' 
Corps, were specially excepted, but also those purely voluntary uniformed military associations, 
such as the veterans of the Thirteenth, Twenty-third, Sixty-ninth, and Seventy-first Regiments 
N. G. S. N. Y.,and the Lincoln Guard of the City of New York, Jackson Corps of Albany, 
Buffalo City Guard, Greenleaf Guard of Rochester, and the like, were likewise excepted, and at 
liberty, as heretofore, to wear such uniforms and designations of rank as they pleased, and parade 
in public when they might find it desirable, subject only to such restrictions as to times of parade 
as are common to the National Guard 



61 

" All independent military organizations* now existing, not regu- 
" larly organized as organizations of the National Guard, are hereby 
" made subject to the orders of the Commander-in-Chief in case of 
" emergency or necessity, to aid the National Guard in quelling in- 
" vasion, insurrection, riot, or breach of the peace, provided the offi- 
" cers and members of such organizations shall, when so called upon, 
" first sign and execute and deliver, through the Commandant, to the 
" National Guard commander, to which said organization is ordered 
" to report, a form of enlistment, in form to be prescribed by the 
" Commander-in-Chief in regulations or orders, for a term not less 
" than thirty days nor more than ninety days at one time ; and in 
" case the services of such organizations shall not be required for 
" the full term of their enlistment, they shall be discharged by order 
" of the Commander-in-Chief. 

" All members of such independent organizations, when called 
" into the service of the State, as herein provided for, shall then be 
" armed. t equipped, and paid by the State, and shall be protected 
" in the discharge of their duties, as though a part of the National 
" Guard of the State, and in obeying the orders of the Commander- 
" in-Chief. 

" Section 76. — Whoever offends against any of the provisions of 
" the preceding section, or belongs to, or parades with, any such 
" unauthorized body of men with fire-arms, or fails to respond to 
" do duty when called upon by the Commander-in-Chief, in case of 
" necessity or emergency, and after enlisting or refusing to enlist, as 
" provided in the preceding section, shall be punished by a fine not 
"exceeding the sum often dollars, or by imprisonment in the 
" county jail for a term not exceeding six months, or both." 



*' In none of these independent military organizations, even those existing under Legislative 
Charters, are the officers commissioned by the Governor, although, as they belong to the Militia 
there is nothing in the law to prevent his doing so — in his discretion. 

1 The intent of the Legislature is here very apparent, as it is well known that some of the 
purely voluntary and unchartered, independent military uniformed associations, like the Veterans 
of the Thirteenth, Twenty-third, and Seventy-first Regiments, N. G. S. N. Y. have usually pa- 
raded only with side arms and not with muskets. 



62 

Note. — Prior to the year 1879 it was customary for many years, 
in the Seventh Regiment, N. Gr. S. N. Y., and in some other regiments 
of the 1st Division, for many members of companies who had served 
their time, and were entitled to claim their full and honorable dis- 
charges on account of expiration of service, to continue in such com- 
panies, and, in consequence, such companies often far exceeded the 
maximum prescribed by the Military Code. 

By a tacit understanding such members who were entitled to 
discharge, attended such drills and parades, as their business or pro- 
fessional occupations would permit, but, in case of absences there- 
from they were not reported as delinquents, in like manner, as the 
other members of their companies who had not served their time, nor 
were they required to attend Courts-Martial and make excuses for 
such absences, or be fined, except in extreme cases. 

In 1879 the then Inspector-General undertook to enforce strictly 
the Military Code, a policy since pursued, and to insist that no com- 
pany, should have a greater number of members on its roll, than the 
law permitted, and that all delinquents, should be reported, and that 
the aggregate attendance at drills and parades, of the effective 
strength of such company, should be considered as one of the ele- 
ments in determining its relative standing, during the year for effi- 
ciency and discipline. 

This policy compelled the discharge of many old members, who 
otherwise would have continued in their respective companies. 

In 1880, the Legislature, in amending the then " Military Code," 
undertook to meet this difficulty, by providing that members of com- 
panies, on expiration of their enlistment, might re-enlist for one or 
more years. 

Only a small number chose to avail themselves of this privilege, 
for the very natural reason that, being exempt by law from ordinary 
military duty, they did not care to be amenable to the requirements of 
constant, regular drills and stated parades, when possibly their avo- 
cations might interpose serious obstacles to regular attendance. 

This was peculiarly the ease of exempt members engaged in cleri- 
cal or professional occupations. 

Had they been allowed to continue in their former quasi-honorary 
status in their respective companies, they would have performed from 
year to year, such ordinary militaty duty as they were able, and 
when they were able. 



63 

For the reasons above mentioned, and it is not disputed that the 
present policy of the State is a judicious one, founded on sound 
military principles, it lias resulted, that, but a small percentage of the 
members of the companies in the active regiment, would consent to 
continue their connection with it, and thus subject themselves to the 
burdens of ordinary military duty beyond the time when the State 
had enabled them to claim such exemption. 

With this condition of affairs, the Veteran Organization of the 
Seventh Regiment has, of course, had nothing to do ; but it has 
been able to enroll, uniform, and retain for duty, in order to aid 
the National Guard in any emergency, many honorably discharged 
members of the "Seventh Regiment, N. G. S. N. Y.," who would, 
otherwise have become lost in the mass of citizens. 

As most of the companies of the Seventh Regiment, N. G. S. N. 
Y., to-day, are at a maximum, notwithstanding the loss by discharge 
of many of those who had served their time, it will be perceived, 
that there is no foundation for the statement, that the existence of 
the battalion of the Veterans of the Seventh Regiment, has been to 
induce young men who would otherwise continue to perform active 
military duty in the National Guard, to take their discharge from 
the service of the State, to join such organization. 

We rejoice at the present honorable position of the active regi- 
ment, and that its ranks are nearly full ; and we trust that it will 
continue in the future to maintain the proud reputation it has held in 
the Militia of the country and in this community during the past 
sixty years. 

BY ORDER OF THE COMMITTEE, 

L. W. Winchester, 

Colonel and Chairman. 



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